46 One Shots (give or take a few)
by aLoggedInReader
Summary: This is a series of one shots centered around the 46 trilogy. Established Sabriel, humanized archangels, etc.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: So, this is the first one shot for the 46 series I've gotten around to writing. I'm sorry it has taken so long, but my master's thesis is seriously kicking my butt right now.

The one shots will be in no particular order, with a little note at the start to let you know when it takes place. Yes, you can request to see one shots about particular people or a particular time in their lives, but I cannot give any guarantees that anything in particular will be written.

Also, Treeni will contribute her own one shots, so watch out for the author's notes to tell you who has written any particular chapter, if it matters to you. We're both awesome though, so it shouldn't matter too much. ;-)

* * *

[Takes place shortly before the beginning of "Attack of the 46 inch Winchester", the very last part takes place after chapter 26 of "46 Days Later" (after the talk between Adam and Tarot about Tarot's broken wings)]

* * *

Daniel wouldn't go as far as to say he was a good guy, but he wasn't the worst he could be either. Sure, he was toeing the line of legality regularly and sometimes took a step or two over it, but petty crimes were hardly comparable to the monstrous things other people got up to. It wasn't like Dan murdered old ladies in their sleep. If anything, he stole some money from their purses while helping them cross the street and he only did that if he really needed money.

As a general rule, Dan stuck to legal methods as much as possible. Why steal money to pay the bills when a pair of tight jeans and a charming smile got him all the drinks he wanted without the risk of getting busted by the police? It wasn't like he needed a lot to be happy, the aforementioned drinks -handed out by barkeepers who didn't care about age limits too much- and the fact that his parents couldn't be bothered to question whatever he got up to as long as he didn't ask them for money were enough for him most days.

A couple of months earlier Daniel hadn't returned home for a solid five days, spending the nights with his friends and the one or the other conquest respectively, just to test how little his parents really cared about his whereabouts. They never even mentioned his absence. There was no use ruining the nice buzz he had managed to build up with the help of a few ladies who were all too happy to buy him drinks as long as he kept flirting with them with thoughts of the old asshole and his trophy wife.

The night was still young and there were a few more bars where nobody bothered to card him anymore. All in all, it was a good evening for Dan. It was nearly a pity that he probably wasn't going to remember too much of it the next day.

At least, it was a good evening until a bald guy grabbed Dan's shoulder. Daniel's first instinct was to yank his shoulder free, throw a punch, kick or even scream if he had to, but that seemed like an overreaction. The guy looked like a business man who had wandered into the wrong part of town, or the right part of town, but had chosen the wrong person to make contact with.

Baldy, as Dan had started to think of the guy, made it pretty clear that he had in fact the wrong person the moment he started to talk. "I have a proposition for you."

"Sorry, dude, I'm really not that desperate." The words left Daniel's lips before he managed to think them through, but he had the good grace to add a nearly apologetic smile and shrug just a moment later. He didn't want to provoke a fight and it wasn't like he didn't let people pay him -indirectly- for being friendly to them. Just not the kind of friendly Baldy apparently was after.

"This entire affair has already taken much longer than it had any right to, so I'm just going to tell you exactly what I expect you to do and you will comply. You only have to say yes and this will be over before you know it," the bald man stated without showing any regard for Dan's statement, "So, good boys say what?"

"Let me go before I scream bloody murder," Dan spat, already thinking of all the strategic points he could ram his knee into if Baldy didn't cut the crap, "Oh, and fuck you very much."

As much as Daniel usually liked the fact that nobody around these parts of town gave much of a crap for law and order, he wished that it was more likely that somebody would see his predicament and actually do something about it.

The bald man groaned annoyed, before he shrugged and stated, "Nobody takes the easy way anymore."

The statement was creepy enough by itself given the circumstances, but something about the way the man said it in combination with the look he gave Daniel made his blood freeze instantly. Maybe he should have just said yes to whatever the guy wanted -What was one more memory to drink away?- but the greater part of Dan was too stubborn to give in like that. If Baldy thought he could get Daniel to comply easily -or at all- he was sorely mistaken!

* * *

Zachariah had never been too fond of humanity, but he had to admit that there had been times when they were at least god-fearing enough to know how to treat angels with the respect they deserved. Once upon a time all Zachariah would have had to do was to tell the human he was the vessel for an angel and the boy would have been happy to say yes. Zachariah surely wouldn't have had to bring him to a remote location and spend hours convincing a measly human to do his goddamn duty!

"Once more, you insolent brat," Zachariah said, barely concealing his impatience and growing annoyance anymore, "Good boys say what?"

It was easy enough to tell that the human wanted to say anything other than yes, but it seemed like Zachariah finally managed to beat most of the fight out of him. Not that any literal beating had taken place. Getting his hands dirty on a mere human like that really was beneath Zachariah. There were so much he could do to stubborn children without laying a finger on them. The human had insisted to learn that the hard way.

Zachariah was already thinking of the next way to persuade the human to cooperate when the boy suddenly started to shiver violently, his shoulders slumping completely. "Yes."

* * *

It took a long time before Tarot became aware enough of his surroundings to realize what it was that cut through the haze he was lost in for however long it had been. The moment the angel realized that he had no idea how much time he had lost, he panicked and nearly blacked out again.

The one thing that kept Tarot grounded, if only barely, was the steady ticking of a clock. Time was still passing as it should, the seconds were ticking by as they always were, not everything was broken, no matter how much it felt like things were damaged beyond repair.

Slowly the ticking of the clock became clear enough for Tarot to realize that he was in some kind of clock tower. There was something soothing about being surrounded by the auditory and, when Tarot turned his head to see the cogs moving, visual representation of time passing.

For a moment, Tarot allowed the ticking of the clock to sweep him away to a time when everything still made sense, when all that was expected of him was to keep an eye on the passing of time, before Zachariah...

Tarot's mouth opened for a scream that never came the moment everything came flooding back to him. Zachariah's plans for the Winchesters, the wrongness of it all... How Tarot tried to explain, then beg, then simply resist... How Zachariah set out to get Tarot a vessel so he could cast the spell after his last resistance broke... The wish to simply get away from Zachariah, never be in the hands of the other angel again... Just get away from Tarot's own betrayal of his most sacred principles. Time moved forward, not back. Except for the Winchesters, because Tarot was not strong enough to keep resisting, because he was not strong enough to keep saying no so his vessel never had to make the decision.

The angel curled in on himself without making the conscious decision to do so. Tarot's attempts to wrap his vessel up in his grace, offer whatever comfort and healing he could, remained futile. It was impossible to say if Tarot's grace or the human's soul was too frayed to hold on to the other. Quite possibly they both were.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, so sorry. Please... p-please... forgive... me," Tarot mumbled over and over, trying to concentrate on the words enough so they would infiltrate every fiber of his being and maybe reach his vessel.

The answer never came.

* * *

Adam awoke with a start.

"Terry? You good?" Adam asked, clearly worried. It was unusual to say the least for the angel to just walk into Adam's room -or more like Bobby's guest room- even more unusual for him to do it in the middle of the night. Something had to be seriously wrong, not that that was hard to see once Adam turned on the bedside lamp and got a good look at his friend's face.

"N... n... no," Tarot whispered. The angel was a little surprised that he managed to form any words, even if it was just one comprised of two letters. It surely helped that Adam spent a lot of time speaking to Tarot ever since Adam decided to stay at Bobby's. At least the angel didn't think he would have managed to force even that short word to come over his lips only a couple of weeks ago.

"Hey, it's okay," Adam replied in a soothing tone as he swung his legs over the side of the bed to sit up.

"I mean, I get that it's not okay right now, but... just c'mere," Adam added after a moment of consideration, patting the spot next to him on the bed. Tarot was shaking enough to make it look like he might just collapse any moment. Hopefully sitting down would do him some good.

It took a moment before Tarot could get his feet to move again and it seemed like ages until he could sit down next to Adam, but somehow it became easier to breathe the moment his friend put his arm around his shoulders.

They sat in silence for a while, before the urge to speak returned to Tarot. He came to Adam's room to tell his friend something, not that Tarot was sure if he would manage to do it. "D... D... D..."

"No rush, just take your time," Adam stated, keeping his tone light and comforting, "I'm here to listen and if it takes all night that's okay."

Tarot nodded erratically and took a few deep breaths.

"D-Dan was... wasn't... a good guy, b-b-but he did... didn... didn't... deserve this."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Thank so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack, funkypanda, random yet lovable and keacdragon for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

[Takes place after the end of 46 Problems (but before the epilogue of that story)]

"Why are we here again?" Lucifer groaned as he poked the plastic skeleton standing oddly enough in the corner of the classroom. The novelty of seeing the place Grace spent most of her days up close had worn off very quickly and Lucifer was only left with annoyance over the fact that he had to leave his little abomination in the care of her grandmother of all people. For some reason Nadine wanted Samandriel to accompany them as well, so not even the trusted baby angel had been available for babysitting.

"Because I just had to choose a good school for my daughter, you know, one where the teachers actually give a damn about their students' lives," Nadine retorted just as snippily as Lucifer had asked his question. Nadine found that sort of mirroring Lucifer's behavior worked pretty well. It seemed to be a language the former devil understood. She also learned that most of the time Lucifer didn't even intend to be quite as rude as he came across, at least when it came to talking to her.

"That was a spectacularly stupid idea," Lucifer agreed with a light smirk. He knew full well that Nadine had been sarcastic, but the woman's snarky side was something he could appreciate about her. Besides, in theory finding a school for Grace where people would care about her and her wellbeing was a good idea. However, being summoned by some teacher who thought that Grace was too old to play with imaginary friends was only annoying.

A fitting reply was on the tip of Nadine's tongue, but before she could voice her thoughts Gracie's teacher entered the room.

"Miss Turner, I thought I should introduce you to Luke and Samandriel, or Lucy and Mandy," Nadine greeted the teacher with a nice smile, "As you can see, they're not imaginary."

In a way, Nadine understood how her daughter's teacher came to the conclusion that Lucy and Mandy had to be Gracie's imaginary friends. From what Nadine heard, Gracie liked to tell stories about the awesome things she got up to with her two friends. It probably didn't help their cause that Gracie used male pronouns for friends with traditionally female names. All in all, it was not exactly Miss Turner's fault that she came to the conclusion a talk was needed.

"They recently rented a part of the house and babysit for Gracie when I'm not at home," Nadine added after a moment of consideration. Not that it was anyone's business who exactly Lucifer and Samandriel were, but why risk starting a rumor?

"So, that's it then?" Lucifer suddenly asked, his face lighting up a little with gratifying surprise, "That was surprisingly just a little unpleasant."

After all, the misconception had been cleared up, so there was no reason for them to stay any longer. Meeting the teacher in person was somewhat useless from Lucifer's point of view, but it wasn't too much of a bother. At least, he now had a picture to the name for the next time Grace talked about her teacher.

"In fact, that was only one of the things I wanted to talk about," Miss Turner replied with a frown as Lucifer had just gotten ready to leave the room again.

"And she had to ruin it," Lucifer groaned exasperatedly. Things could only go downhill from here and the teacher had nobody to blame other than herself! Lucifer decided to ignore Nadine's warning glance. Grace's mother knew exactly what she had done when she asked Lucifer to come to school with her, so Nadine was another woman who only had herself to blame.

"I must apologize for my brother," Samandriel stated in a diplomatic tone. The teacher's bewildered look was a good clue for the angel to know Lucifer had just offended the woman and Nadine's reaction gave away that she was not pleased. Damage control was one skill Samandriel had managed to improve dramatically ever since he started guarding Lucifer.

"Hold on... Samandriel, did you just apologize for me? You _never_ apologize for me! I will apologize myself, if I see the need to do so!" Lucifer narrowed his eyes at his brother for a moment, before he shrugged and added, "Which I don't in this case."

"I apologize, brother," Samandriel replied sincerely. Lucifer was right in this case. The former archangel was willing to admit his wrongdoings these days, Samandriel had seen Lucifer face the consequences of his actions and apologize for them if he thought it was necessary. It was truly remarkable and there was no need to play down Lucifer's development.

"Gracie's enthusiasm for school work has suffered lately. I understand that the whole situation is... difficult, but I can't tolerate her not doing her homework," Miss Turner told Nadine, to bring the discussion back to the topic they should be talking about.

Nadine was pretty sure she would give an impersonation of a fish on dry land if she tried to open her mouth to those -spoken and unspoken- accusations. Before Nadine could find the right thing to say, Lucifer spoke up.

"Grace missed homework exactly three times in the past months," Lucifer stated with conviction, "Once when I moved in, because she was distracted. Once when I was in hospital and once because after working on it for two hours we decided the workload was ridiculous and she should not have to do the rest."

Lucifer should know, he was the one who was always around when Grace did her homework after all. The first time he had not known of the need to do homework, the second time he frankly been too close to dying to think about Grace's homework and the third time was really the teacher's fault. Homework was meant to supplement learning, not substitute it.

"Gracie is also not socializing like she used to," Miss Turner added firmly, "She also hasn't made any effort to make up with Sarah and Dana after the unfortunate incidence. They haven't talked or played together even once."

Miss Turner didn't want to make too much of an issue out of Gracie pulling Sarah's hair over a petty argument, but the way she was -or rather wasn't- dealing with the aftermath was worrying.

"What's the problem with Grace not playing with Sarah and Dana? They're not playing with her either. I don't see you talking to the parents of those little bitches," Lucifer exclaimed before Nadine could say anything. Granted, the teacher might have had, or even might still have a talk with the girls' parents, but since those two were clearly in the wrong there was absolutely no need to have this discussion in a way that suggested Grace had done something wrong.

"I don't think that's an appropriate term to use for young girls," Samandriel stated with a deep frown.

"I said 'little'," Lucifer retorted. Everyone present was old enough for a couple of curse words. Lucifer understood the need to control his language around children to some extent. There was a chance that Grace did not know any swearword Lucifer would use and there was no need to teach them to her. However, with adults it was pretty much a given that they already knew those words anyway. Thinking about it, they had to learn them at some point as well, so it was an accepted part of growing up to adapt a more colorful vocabulary. Still, Lucifer didn't want to argue the issue with Nadine, if he could just as easily watch his language a little. However, if Nadine ever started an argument about the topic, Lucifer knew exactly what he would tell her.

"However, as I understand it Dana insinuated that Gracie's father might not have died had he been a better person," Samandriel added, ignoring his brother's interjection, "I think it's quite understandable given the circumstances that Gracie doesn't wish to play with her anymore."

As Samandriel understood it children often had a very simplistic view on a lot of things. From the movies and TV shows Gracie had shown him, Samandriel thought he could also understand where the idea that only bad people died came from. Still, Dana had been far out of line when she made her assumption. If Gracie, who was the same age group, could understand that good and bad was much more a matter of grayscales than of black and white, the same could be expected of Dana.

"That's the first I've heard of that," Miss Turner admitted, clearly taken aback.

"Maybe you should've just asked Grace then, Samandriel did and she readily told him," Lucifer pointed out smugly. Clearly, Grace would have told Lucifer as well, if he had thought to ask her about her reasons for disliking the girl. All Lucifer had known was that Grace never liked Dana and when Sarah made friends with her Grace also stopped being friends with Sarah. To Lucifer simply disliking someone for the sake of it was comprehensible, but he had to admit he felt a little stupid when Samandriel questioned Grace's dislike of the girls further and they learned the full story. Lucifer felt like he should have known that his little abomination would not dislike anyone without reason.

"Look, Gracie will not miss her homework again, I'll make sure of that," Nadine stated as soon as she got the chance to talk. Somehow Lucifer and -to a lesser extent- Samandriel had taken over, but they clearly didn't know how to end a parent-teacher talk. Nadine gave Lucifer a pointed look for good measure as well. Even if she agreed that giving children too much homework was not good, that was a topic for the next school conference and not something that could be solved by simply not doing the appointed work.

"Fine," Lucifer agreed, rolling his eyes. The next time an unreasonable workload was placed on Grace's shoulders, Lucifer would simply give her the answers and speed up the process like that, if it could spare them from having more of these talks.

"But beyond that, what Gracie does in her spare time is none of your business and I will absolutely not force her to socialize with people she doesn't like," Nadine told the teacher in a no-nonsense tone that made clear the issue was not up for discussion.

"Well said," Lucifer praised Nadine, patting her shoulder for good measure before he nodded toward the door, "I assume we can leave now."

It was not too late to pick up Grace from her grandparents' place and go buy some ice cream. Clearly the little abomination had done nothing wrong and she just as clearly deserved a treat for putting up with her teacher five days a week.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, random yet lovable, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, Treeni, LeeMarieJack, LadyGrelka and funkypanda for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

[Takes place after the end of 46 Problems, but before the epilogue of that story]

Gabriel could understand that people kept ogling Sam and trying to flirt with him. The hunter was sex on legs after all. No, better than that. He was chocolate covered sex on legs with whipped cream and sprinkles on top, really. So, people flirting with Sam was a-okay as far as Gabriel was concerned. He wouldn't act like he didn't understand the irresistibility of his own fiancé.

The really annoying -infuriating, in fact- part was something else entirely...

"I used to be an archangel _and_ a god. For all they know I am still! I have worshipers, lots of worshipers!" Gabriel randomly announced into the silence that had fallen over the motel room he shared with his fiancé.

In a way, Sam was glad that Gabriel was finally speaking. Stubborn silence was usually a bad sign when it came to the former archangel. Gabriel wasn't the kind to be quiet just because he felt like having a peaceful moment after all. However, what Gabriel said to break the silence made Sam frown deeply. Try as he might, Sam couldn't say that he understood what his partner was on about. Not that Gabriel needed his input to rant on.

"Okay, so Loki is not the hotshot he used to be outside of pop culture, but Gabriel..." Gabriel stated heatedly, "There's not many angels who got mentioned by name in the bible!"

Sam's frown deepened impossibly for a moment, before realization set in and he had to laugh.

"You know, if you want me to bow down and worship you a little, or a lot, all you had to do was ask," Sam replied with as much seriousness as he could muster up. Their latest salt and burn was finished, Dean and Castiel were still at the bar for all Sam knew and there was nothing pressing on their schedules for once. All in all, Sam had been waiting for Gabriel to make a pass at him ever since they got back to their room. Not that Gabriel went the 'I'm a god and need to be worshiped' route before, but Sam thought he could get into it, or at least try it this once.

Gabriel immediately stopped wearing holes -or rather, more holes- into the carpet and gave Sam a suspicious look, before he waggled his eyebrows and replied: "Your offering pleases me greatly."

Sam laughed when Gabriel pulled him closer by the lapels of his jacket and proceeded to rid him of the first of three layers he was wearing that moment. Honestly, most of their forays into -tame to moderate- role-play territory somehow ended with Sam laughing and breaking character with it, but Gabriel never seemed to mind.

Sam was just about to push Gabriel's jacket off the former archangel's shoulders when Gabriel stopped him.

"Wait, wait, I was trying to make a point!" Gabriel stated as he stopped Sam's roaming hands. Maybe that hadn't been the best of ideas now that he thought about it, but Gabriel was not quite through with his righteous indignation.

"I thought your point was that you wanted to get laid?" Sam replied with a frown. It was possible that Sam had misread the signs, but when did Gabriel not want to get laid, even in the times it wasn't what he originally set out to achieve?

"No, the point was that I despise it when other people flirt with you," Gabriel huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Half the time it seemed like Sam didn't even notice the looks and smiles people -women especially- gave him. Not that Gabriel thought he had to worry in that regard. Sam was a through and through faithful soul after all. That didn't mean Gabriel had to like it when people flirted with his partner though. Besides, the real issue was something else entirely...

"What?" Sam asked, clearly taken aback, "Okay, hold on, you realize that..."

"You pretty much despise being flirted with? Yes, I know that," Gabriel waved his hand casually.

"And you also realize that I don't have my relationship status written across my forehead, so..." Sam added with a light shrug. As often as they were in bars and the like for their hunts, it wasn't exactly a miracle that some people might think their flirting would be welcome. Hell, Dean didn't exactly give off the vibe of 'please stay away from us, we're busy and not interested' most of the time and Sam happened to stand close to his brother quite frequently. Usually, nobody thought to offer Sam a drink or ask if he had plans for the evening when Gabriel was around as well. Apparently, it was clear enough to everyone who saw them together that they were an item. Sometimes in the couple of minutes Gabriel would inevitably be gone to make a phone call in a quieter location, get them new drinks or follow the call of nature were when somebody might try to make a pass at Sam, but it wasn't like it happened all too frequently.

"Please, of course I know that," Gabriel snorted, before he huffed out a breath and added, "And to give them credit, everyone backed off once you told them you were engaged."

If he was quite honest, Gabriel had to say that he loved to witness the moment when Sam would inevitably show his engagement ring -best purchase ever- to whoever was flirting with him. The satisfaction Gabriel felt came much more from the content smile on Sam's face whenever he showed off his ring than from the stupid expression on the other party's face too, though the latter played a satisfying part as well.

Gabriel automatically reached for Sam's hand and intertwined their fingers, so their simple silver engagement rings clinked together. That would not grow old anytime soon. If ever.

"Uh... yes, so...? What's the problem?" Sam asked, clearly confused. Sure, Gabriel didn't have to like it, even if he realized that it was nobody's fault, but why would he make such a huge deal out of it?

"It's not so much them flirting with you. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't want to tap that?" Gabriel grinned as he pinched Sam's butt in demonstration. The former archangel wouldn't blame anyone for having good taste, the problem was much more their demonstration of bad taste that usually followed.

"Gabriel," Sam sighed disapprovingly. Gabriel was the one who started this whole debate and Sam still didn't know what it really was about. Hopefully, they could just talk it over and then get back to more pleasant things. That moment it seemed like Dean would have a better time teaching Castiel how to hustle pool than Sam had with the love of his life alone in a motel room. It seemed a little unfair.

"Okay, look, it's the way they look at me," Gabriel shrugged casually, though his face gave away that they had finally breached the subject that really bothered him.

"The way they look at _you_?" Sam repeated a little baffled. Not that Sam usually paid that much attention to whoever had tried to flirt with him once Gabriel returned, but he was pretty sure they just looked disappointed most of the time.

"Don't act like you don't know that one, 'What's the Greek god doing with the imp?'" Gabriel elaborated indignantly. It did nothing to lessen his indignation when Sam immediately started to laugh again, "That's not funny!"

"You know, for all you've told me about the Greek gods, it's not much of a compliment to be compared to one of them," Sam stated still chuckling, before he wrapped his arms around Gabriel's shoulders and added, "Maybe it's more of a 'Damn, all the good ones are taken, or gay, or both' look."

"No, it's a 'Wow Shorty has to be some kind of stinking rich sugar daddy to keep him interested' look," Gabriel argued with an exaggerated pout.

"Now you're just being ridiculous," Sam shook his head with a snort, "Besides, you are stinking rich and the sugar part..."

"You think I'm being ridiculous?" Gabriel shot back in a tone that was impressively dripping angelic authority, even without the grace to back it up, "I refer you to my former statement about being an archangel and a god."

"I don't see how any of that would keep you from being ridiculous," Sam retorted with a smirk. Honestly, the angels and gods they had met over the years had not exactly given the impression that it was impossible for them to be completely ridiculous or worse. Actually, most of them had been worse, at least as far as the gods went. It seemed there were quite a few very nice or at least decent angels.

"Just a couple minutes ago you were ready to get to your knees and worship me!" Gabriel pointed out, cocking an eyebrow at his fiancé. If Gabriel was ridiculous, what did Sam's willingness to worship him say about the hunter? After all, who was the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who followed him?

"The offer still stands," Sam stated with a seductive smile, before he added casually, "If you're done being ridiculous."

Gabriel opened and closed his mouth a couple of times without any sounds coming out because of the repeated accusation. However, it was possible that Gabriel had made too big of a deal of the whole affair, especially when there were much better things to do...

"I'll settle for knowing that we both know you couldn't possibly do better," Gabriel shrugged and grinned before giving a wide grin as he removed Sam's overshirt. One of these days they would have to stop wearing so many layers. Then again, removing clothes was part of the fun, so maybe things could stay the way they were.

"Idiot," Sam shook his head in exaggerated exasperation.

"Your idiot," Gabriel retorted without missing a beat, before he pulled Sam into a heated kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Nicolene B, Maknatuna, Quiet Crash, Maddy Love Castiel, LeeMarieJack, keacdragon, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LadyGrelka and CherylB1964 for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

[Takes place toward the end of 46 Problems]

"Phillips screwdriver," Hope said, extending her arm as she waited for Michael to locate and hand over the requested item. After days of painting walls, putting together furniture, installing lamps and then putting together more furniture, Hope had to admit that maybe just paying someone to do all those things for them would have been better. It would have been less strenuous in any case and at times less frustrating. However, they were moving into their first shared home, so doing as much as they could themselves just felt right. At least it did to Hope and Michael never objected.

Maybe having a good reason to push more of the wedding preparation duties on her aunt and uncle had played a part in Hope's decision as well. Not that she didn't want to be married to Michael, in fact she couldn't wait for that part, but wedding preparations were somewhat tedious and stressful. Especially since they decided on a very quick wedding. There was also moving out of Hope's family's home as soon as they were married, if not a little earlier.

"I could help you, you know?" Michael stated just a little exasperatedly as he reached for the tool and passed it on. Hope was admittedly doing a very good and quick job of putting together tables, chairs, bookshelves and whatever else they bought that still needed to be assembled, but Michael felt just a little useless as things were.

"I know, honey," Hope replied in faked seriousness, before she gave Michael a quick peck to the lips and added, "But I value your physical integrity too much to hand you any even moderately sharp tools and we can't exactly call Otheos to heal you right now."

They were currently working on a little surprise for their angelic protector after all. Luckily, Otheos complied when they asked him to just leave for a while, or Hope would have felt seriously awkward and possibly paranoid with being watched over every second of every day. For all they knew Otheos really left and only paid minor attention to any signs of serious distress at those times anyway. Then again, the way Otheos reacted whenever he had to witness Hope and Michael being too affectionate it was pretty much a given the angel would either pull a face or give himself away in some other way the next time they saw him, if he was peaking.

"What does a man have to do around here to get some respect in his own home?" Michael asked exaggerating his frustration for effect. He couldn't even call his brothers and complain, because Michael knew they would laugh at him. At least Lucifer and Gabriel would laugh, possibly loudly enough to be heard without the aid of a phone.

"How about not hitting your finger every time you as much as look at a hammer?" Hope suggested with a cheeky grin. They had worked together -on Michael's insistence- when the time to put their new bed together came. If Otheos hadn't healed him, Michael would still have the scars to show for it. To his credit, Michael was awesome at handing over tools and holding things together until Hope could get the screws in.

"I'm a warrior and a leader, not a handyman," Michael groaned. Given the time, he could have learned all those skills, there was no doubt about it, but they were a little pressed for time as things were. Of course, it was their own fault for rushing things along. Or rather it was partly Michael's fault for insisting on a virginal wedding -as far as he was concerned, that train had left the station where Hope was concerned years ago and Hope's love life before she met Michael was not for him to judge anyway- and partly Hope's fault for insisting on a quick wedding then. Not that either one of them had any objections to the compromise. It just meant that they were pressed for time in some matters.

"I know," Hope smiled, before she leaned in for a lingering kiss, "And your waffles are to die for."

Michael nodded contently and went back to handing over the tools Hope requested without protest. Even though there was never any serious doubt about it, it was still good to hear that his input was valued.

* * *

The room was still very much bare, even though it had a desk, a chair, a couch with a glass table, a cupboard and some shelves. The one somewhat personal item Hope had put up was a dart board. It had been easy enough to convince Michael to give a call to Castiel once Hope told him about her idea, so there was a photograph of Balthazar's face in the middle of the dart board.

"I value the sentiment, but what is the cover story for this?" Otheos stated after he took in the room he had just been told was supposed to be his. Not that the guard needed his own space in the house, but it was a very nice gesture and the dart board was a much appreciated personal touch.

"Polyamory?" Hope shrugged casually and then immediately had to laugh until she had to hold her stomach and gasp for breath after seeing the shocked and scandalized faces of both Michael and Otheos. The only reason why Hope would suggest something like that was to see the stupid expressions on people's faces anyway, particularly innocent angle types who have been closed off from earth for far too long, so the mission was already accomplished.

"If anyone asks I will just tell them I am your probation assistant," Otheos gave Michael a small smirk. Not that probation assistants usually lived with their clients as far as the angel knew, but it still made for a better and especially less embarrassing cover story than what Hope suggested. Less embarrassing for Otheos that was.

"Oh, that sounds dangerous, I like it!" Hope nodded to herself a couple of times. Of course, her family wouldn't buy it. They knew -or thought they knew- too much of Michael not to call the lie the moment they heard it. A lot of other people might not exactly have a problem believing that Hope ended up marrying a convicted criminal. The fact that they obviously had enough money to buy a four bedroom home in a good neighborhood would only add fuel to the rumors.

"What? No! You two cannot be serious!" Michael protested strongly, before both Hope and Otheos started to laugh at him. Michael huffed out a breath with crossed arms before he added, "If anything you are the butler."

Of course, saying that Otheos was their butler or anything of the kind would not hold up to scrutiny. The way the guard talked to Michael and Hope hardly spoke of someone employed by them. Michael also wasn't comfortable with the thought of seriously claiming that he had employees to begin with.

"That might come across a little... racist," Hope pointed out with a slight shrug. Otheos' vessel was clearly Indian after all. Not that there was anything inherently racist about employing Indians for any kind of work, but casting the Indian guy in the role of the butler for a lie seemed a little wrong.

"The well paid butler with all social benefits whom we love like a member of the family," Michael retorted a little too quickly. The moment he said it, Michael already realized that the description sounded a little odd. It could easily give the wrong impression anyway. Then again, Hope might like that.

"Which brings us back to polyamory," Hope immediately shot back with a snort.

"It's sad that this far that would be the best cover we have been able to come up with," Michael huffed out a chuckle, before he added strongly, "Which doesn't mean I approve, because I don't!"

That Michael did not view anything Hope got up to before she met him as a problem didn't mean that he wouldn't see it as a problem to share her with someone else in the present. Something like that was simply not in the cards as far as Michael was concerned. Of course it would only be a cover story without any truth to it, but Michael drew the line at even letting anyone believe he would be fine with sharing his fiancée like that.

"Don't worry, if anyone asks he's a friend from my Baltimore days who needed to get out of the city," Hope finally suggested. Otheos could have also been one of Michael's friends, but Michael still was quite bad at making up lies on the fly. Hope wouldn't have a problem just coming up with a little backstory that was believable and stick with it to the end.

"How... open-minded of you to allow a male friend of your future wife to share your home," Otheos commented seriously, without a hint of humor.

"Nothing to worry about, after all you are gay," Michael replied, mimicking his brother's tone.

"I have no such preferences," Otheos insisted with a deep frown. As a matter of fact, Otheos did not have any preference at all. Angels were sexless beings. Some of them came to identify more with one gender than the other, but at their core they all were sexless beings. That Otheos' vessel was male did not mean he fully identified as male and most of all it didn't say anything about any sexual preferences he might or might not have. Actually, as things were he simply didn't have them. Not that any of that held any meaning for an angel, who was still very much an angel and not humanized.

"When I tell the story, you do." Michael patted Otheos' shoulder amicably as he went past his brother and out of the room. They still had a lot of things to unpack and the garden to tend to, all things Michael could do without problems or help from the apparent handywoman of the house.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, CherylB1964, LadyGrelka, keacdragon, LeeMarieJack and yet again for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

[Takes place shortly after the end of 46 problems]

Dean Winchester wasn't an idiot. From the moment Gabriel became a part of their ragtag group Dean knew that things were going to change. Most likely for the worse, at least in some regards.

It was like having a mine field in front of the door. Sure, it came in handy against enemies, but going out to work every morning would inevitably become much more difficult, annoying and possibly scarring. This was especially true when your younger brother was sleeping with said minefield.

Not that having Gabriel around didn't have its own advantages. Between Dean and the former archangel, it seemed like Sam had given up on bitching about buying the tons of snacks he would usually deem unhealthy. Actually, Sam was a lot less bitchy in general, which was definitely on the positive side. Sam's happiness was a plus, period.

Of course, Sam's happiness came at a price and most days it seemed like Dean was the one to pay that price...

* * *

"How's the research coming along?" Dean asked as he simultaneously loosened his tie and kicked the motel room door shut behind him. It sure looked like they were dealing with a simple salt and burn, which meant they had to find out who the ghost was and where his -Dean's talks with the witnesses had told them as much at least- bones were buried.

"D-Dean," Sam stuttered, looking at his older brother wide-eyed and then immediately tried to change the look to something more inconspicuous, "I'm... I'm going to need a couple more minutes here."

Dean frowned, but shrugged and plopped down on the edge of the king sized bed, then immediately got up again when he remembered what that bed was most likely being used for nightly activities. Or maybe not nightly. Their lives were strenuous when they were in the middle of a hunt and while Gabriel had built up his stamina and strength over the months it seemed unlikely that he had built up that much sta... Dean pulled a face as he interrupted that particular train of thoughts. He really didn't want to think about any of that.

"Okay Sammy, I can wait," Dean stated as he leaned his shoulder against the wall instead. He had to give it to Gabriel that the former archangel's funds sure made their lives more comfortable. They didn't have to stay at the cheapest place in town all the time anymore. Most days they ended up in motels that had by far less bugs and questionable stains than the ones they had lived in for most of their lives. Occasionally there even was a mint or chocolate on the pillow and tablecloths for the dinette.

"Where's the shortstop anyway?" Dean asked with a frown after a couple of moments passed during which Sam seemed to get worse and worse at acting inconspicuous and it slowly dawned on Dean that he was not in fact looking at a tablecloth. More like a sheet thrown over the table...

Dean didn't fully realize what the wet pop meant the moment he heard it, but the sound would feature in some of his future recurring nightmares nevertheless. The moment Gabriel's laughter came from under the table, Dean was already halfway out of the door.

The fact that Sam's horrified look and Gabriel's hysterical laughter spoke for their activities being over before they crossed the finishing line came as little consolation.

* * *

Sam crossed the parking lot, take out bags in his hands, as Gabriel unexpectedly came running out of their room, Dean hot on his heels.

"I hadn't thought this through!" Gabriel exclaimed the moment he saw Sam, as if those words explained anything. It didn't sound like Gabriel was particularly sorry for whatever he had done. At least Dean wouldn't be able to see the grin on Gabriel's face.

Sam couldn't help feeling like the father of two unruly children when Gabriel basically hid behind him as Dean still tried to get to the former archangel around his younger brother. Sam also had to admit that he was pretty sure his fiancé deserved his older brother's wrath, even though he was still without an inkling of an idea what all this was about.

"He's gone too far!" Dean ground out between gritted teeth. He did everything he could not to continue to chase Gabriel around Sam like they were a bunch of toddlers playing tag, but the temptation was nearly too strong to resist.

"Not as far as you think! You didn't get a good look..." Gabriel's statement was interrupted by his own shriek when Dean lunged for him once more.

"Enough!" Sam stated firmly, giving both the quarrelers a stern look before he could stop himself, "Everyone's looking at us!"

Luckily, they were between cases, so drawing a little attention to themselves wasn't that bad, but it was embarrassing and childish. Sam also still had their lunch in his hands, so he couldn't even dope slap either one of them.

"It's not Sam!" Gabriel was quick to point out once they were back in the room, "If you had taken a good look..."

This time Sam had to drop the bags to keep Dean from strangling Gabriel. It sure looked like Dean was out for blood and the growl coming from deep in his throat made it sound like it was fully possible he might do something he would regret later. Like actually punching Gabriel's lights out. However just a moment later, Sam seriously considered setting his older brother free again.

"I found a look-a-like on a porn site," Gabriel explained with a light shrug. Strangely enough that admission seemed to calm Dean down a little, though his look still promised a world of hurt as soon as Sam let go of him.

"Why are you searching for look-a-likes of me on porn sites?" Sam asked with a frown that his brother would have dubbed a bitch face, if Dean hadn't been too busy staring daggers at Gabriel. Sam could already feel the oncoming headache, but it probably served Gabriel right that he would have to take care of that and then sleep on the couch, metaphorically spoken of course.

"I might've set it as Dean's home page, on auto play... and his desktop, 'cause I knew he'd close the window the moment..." Gabriel stopped speaking as he felt himself getting too close to laughing at the memory of Dean's stupid face. "In my defense, I didn't think he'd fall for it! The guy doesn't even look that much like you!"

Sure, the hair and general build were somewhat similar, but the porn star had neither Sam's voice nor were any of the details of his body right. Granted, Dean might not have looked at any details before he slammed the laptop shut and then threw it off the table for good measure. Gabriel would of course shell out the money for the needed repair -or a new laptop- without comment.

Thinking about it, shouldn't it count in Gabriel's favor that he had gone for masturbation porn instead of anything hard core, involving a second and maybe third person? Not that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, but it was surprisingly hard to find any porn stars that looked anything like Gabriel and about impossible to find one that was starring in porn that also featured somebody looking like Sam.

"Really, Gabe, seriously?" Sam groaned, rubbing his temples. Luckily it looked like the fact that Sam was clearly frustrated with his fiancé helped calm Dean down enough not to jump on Gabriel the moment Sam released his grip on his older brother. "Would you find it funny to have porn of your brothers shown to you?"

"Hey, with the things Balthazar gets up to, it's only a matter of time," Gabriel replied with a shrug, eyeing Dean critically. It was unlikely that Dean would go through any porn sites to find a Balthazar doppelganger of all things anyway. Gabriel might have to prepare himself for the possibility of being trolled with Castiel look-a-like porn though. "Besides, as I said, it wasn't really you."

As things were slowly calming down, Gabriel felt the need to add one more thing: "I know you wouldn't like it if I showed him the real..."

Dean let out what would be best described as the ultimate primal scream before he grabbed the discarded food bags and stormed out of the room. There was only minuscule satisfaction gained from knowing that Gabriel was definitely in the dog house for the foreseeable future.

* * *

Dean hated days like these. The sense of dread, waiting for the inevitable to happen, the fear of the moment when it did growing with every passing second...

"Right there! Yes!"

Why the hell did the stupid motel not have rooms that didn't share a wall for them?

Dean considered banging against the wall to get them to stop, but it was highly questionable they would even hear that over all the noise they were making. Honestly, things hardly ever got this bad. Headboard banging against the wall coupled with all the noises that Dean didn't even want to begin to describe. Actually, he never thought his little brother would be this noisy, but... No, Dean was definitely not thinking about this!

"Cas, swing your ass down here," Dean said toward the ceiling, before he swallowed some of his frustration and added in a nicer tone, "If you're free right now."

"Hello Dean," Castiel greeted his friend with a small smile. It took a moment before the angel fully registered the background noise, but when he did he frowned and cocked his head.

"You see what the problem is?" Dean asked as he threw his arms in the air for good measure.

"My understanding hinges more on the auditory, but I definitely see what the problem is," Castiel replied with a slight smirk that Dean thought he might have just imagined.

"Great, so you'll go an kill your brother now?" Dean retorted with a slightly sadistic grin. It was highly unlikely that Castiel even considered that kind of solution for their problem and to be honest Dean wouldn't have wanted it anyway.

"That seems like an overreaction," Castiel stated thoughtfully, "They are after all only following one of the most primal human urges."

Dean just held his hand up to signalize for Castiel to stop talking. Unfortunately asking Castiel for brain bleach was out of question for multiple reasons. First of all the noise was still going on and it didn't sound like they were anywhere close to finished, so Dean would forget just to be reminded again. Most of all, Castiel had already told him once -and then once more- that things like brain bleach didn't actually exist and that ne he would not play around with Dean's memory. Dammit!

"Damn Muffin, so good!"

Luckily Dean's full body shudder was a clear enough sign for Castiel to finally wave his hand and instantly soundproof the room. It really paid to have a fully powered angel on the friends list and while he was there already they could further Castiel's pop culture education. Maybe that would help Dean to repress everything he just heard.

* * *

Meanwhile in the adjoining room, Sam shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. The moment the water stopped running, he already heard barely muffled noises that made Sam frown. It wasn't so much that it sounded like Gabriel had gotten up to some fun while he wasn't in the room -occasionally Gabriel got started without him after all and to be fair Sam did the same when the mood struck him- it was much more that Gabriel sure had made it sound like he wasn't alone.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at his -fully clothed- fiancé, who was bouncing around on the bed in an effort to make the headboard connect with the wall while making all sorts of imitation sex noises.

"You know exactly what I'm doing," Gabriel stated in a completely unfazed and even seductive tone as he laid back on the bed and beckoned Sam to join him. "So why don't you come over here and help me out a little?"

"Do you have to torture my brother at every turn?" Sam asked with a sigh, even as he climbed on the bed and helped Gabriel to get rid of his shirt. It was only fair, after all Sam was only wearing boxers as things were. Besides, chances were that with Sam's involvement Dean would stop hearing anything. Despite what anyone might think, neither Sam nor Gabriel were particularly loud in bed under normal circumstances.

"He's called me 'the short annoyance' once too often," Gabriel replied with a grin before he wound his arms around Sam's neck and brought their lips together for a passionate kiss.

It was as good a reason as Sam was likely to get for the pranks Gabriel had pulled on Dean lately, but he never expected that being on the road with his older brother and his trickster fiancé would be anything other than a metaphorical minefield anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, LeeMarieJack, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, CherylB1964, Lady Grelka, yet again and SummerMistedDragon for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

Adam shifted the packages of Froot Loops and Count Chocula -for Tarot and Chuck respectively- from one arm to the other so he could reach his ringing phone. Usually, Adam could have just passed the groceries on to one of his friends and roommates, but he had decided to pick up the stuff from their grocery list on the way back from school, so he was currently on his own. Then again, seeing who was calling made Adam glad that he was by himself. Chuck had started to tease him weeks ago and even Tarot had that little knowing smile on his face from time to time.

"Hey Alice, what's up?" Adam greeted in what he hoped was a casual tone. Actually, he was damn sure it was a casual tone, even if Chuck insisted that Adam's voice always got a little higher when he spoke to Alice. Clearly the prophet was just seeing things... or hearing them... whatever.

"Uh, I've got a bit of a situation here and... I hoped you could swing by the park?" Alice explained in a hushed tone, because she was not supposed to even be on the phone when she was in costume. Luckily Gaston -who was actually a pretty nice guy who out of costume everyone called Bill- had taken it upon himself to cover for her little phone call. It didn't give Alice a lot of time, but hopefully enough to get Adam to come and see her over her little issue.

"Sure, I just... give me like half an hour," Adam replied, as he started to make his way to the cash register. He had the most important things already, everything else could wait until Chuck went on a grocery run.

* * *

The fact that Adam always had his recently acquired annual pass for Disney World with him was much more about Tarot's love for the park than about having the hope that Alice might randomly call him to come see her. That would have been just stupid, even if that was exactly what happened.

Not that Adam wouldn't openly admit that he only owned an annual pass because of Tarot and Alice. Disney World was awesome and all, but Adam could have done with only going there once or twice. However, the park was one of the very few public places with a lot of people where Tarot seemed to feel right at home and Alice was always happy to see them around. One day she had actually sent Tarot a picture of the actor playing Cogsworth with the caption 'Wish you were here'. If Adam had later received a similar message only with Alice in her full Belle costume that didn't have to mean anything other than that she liked to joke around. Right?

"Adam!" Alice called, as she waved toward him with a bright smile that did all sorts of things to him that he would never admit.

"Hey," Adam replied, mirroring the bright smile. In all honesty, Adam was never quite sure what was and wasn't okay when Alice was on the job and in full costume, but apparently hugging was fine. At least Alice sure liked to do it to him as a greeting. The first time the guy playing Gaston approached them after such a greeting Adam had been pretty sure he would be in trouble, until he found out that Alice and Bill were friends and he had simply been curious to meet the repeat visitors Alice told him about. After a short, showy skit of course where 'Gaston' got on Adam's case for 'eying his woman' and 'Belle' berated him for it. Eventually after the appeased crowd dispersed, shoulders slumped, breaths were let out and the hulking 'Gaston' suddenly became the slouching, slightly twang accented Bill. Alice was no help at all as she laughed at Adam's lost expression from the whole situation.

"So what's the problem?" Adam asked, clearing his throat a little awkwardly. He didn't want to give the impression that he only swung by because of some undefined crisis and wouldn't have come if Alice had simply asked him.

Alice quickly looked around to check for any supervisors or not so friendly colleagues before she reached into the pocket of her costume and pulled out a tiny, pitch black kitten. Adam was pretty sure that something was wrong with the kitten from the way its eyes weren't opening completely and it seemed malnourished.

"I've had him in my pocket for a while now," Alice admitted a little sheepishly. The way her eyes were sparkling and the fond smile on her lips were all the reasons Adam needed not to lose a word about his observations. A trip to a good vet and a few hearty meals would -hopefully- fix the little guy right up anyway.

"Isn't he just the cutest?" Bill suddenly asked over Alice's shoulder. For a guy who would give Sam a run for his money in the size department and for someone who played a´n egotistical misogynist for a living, Bill was surprisingly soft hearted. In fact, not even Tarot found him intimidating, but it helped that his angelic eyesight let Tarot know that Bill had a gentle soul through and through.

"He was all on his own and... I can't exactly keep him," Alice explained, before she turned her best puppy eyes on Adam, "I thought maybe..."

For all Alice knew Adam and Tarot were living in their own house with a third cousin named Chuck. They had a garden and she knew for a fact that two of them were absolutely great people who would treat an animal right without a doubt and she'd heard only good things about the cousin.

"Oh," Adam replied ineloquently, "Right."

In all honesty, Adam never considered having a pet before. Med School was already keeping his busy and once the part where he would start to work in an actual hospital started, he would be even more pressed for time. Then again, Chuck was working from home most days and Tarot hardly left the house on his own. Besides, they had more than enough space for a kitten and cats were pretty self-reliant anyway. Not to mention the hopeful look on Alice's face that made saying no impossible.

"Pets are awesome for people with mental health problems too. I think Terry would love him," Alice added when Adam didn't show any clear signs of agreeing. After another moment of consideration she leaned in a bit to announce, "And I could come visit him now and then."

"Definitely!" Adam replied with enough enthusiasm to make him cringe inwardly. The embarrassment only lasted for a moment until Alice hugged him once more and pressed a firm kiss to his cheek before hanging him the kitten. "How... how do I smuggle him out?"

Both Alice and Bill only grinned and presented the plushy Aristocats handbag for kids they had gotten from one of the stores earlier.

* * *

"C'mon, he's cute," Adam stated with conviction as he presented their newest housemate to Tarot and Chuck. Tarot immediately got the tiny ball of black fur out of his makeshift carrier, while Chuck kept eying the kitten suspiciously. "And he's just a kitten. How much trouble can he cause?"

Chuck got ready to inform Adam that cats were known tyrants and sociopaths who didn't take no for an answer and didn't accept anyone else as their master. Not that Chuck was a cat hater, he just didn't want to have one. He already had Adam. Before the prophet could open his mouth, Tarot spoke up.

"He's... a female," Tarot informed his friends in a soft tone as to not spook the tiny being. As soon as the angel let some of his grace flow through the kitten to rid her of her runny nose and the parasites she carried, the kitten opened her eyes wide and looked around, finally settling for sniffing and licking Tarot's hands.

"Huh?" Adam frowned slightly, before he shrugged and added, "Okay, that disqualifies Steve as a name."

The fact that Tarot definitely loved the kitten already spoke for them keeping it, no matter what Chuck thought about cats in general. Neither Adam nor Chuck would never willfully do anything to bring Tarot down after all. The angel had been through enough as it was, which Adam knew from the things Tarot told him and Chuck unfortunately knew in detail from seeing all the parts that stood in connection to the Winchester gospel.

"Steve? Seriously?" Chuck asked instead, rolling his eyes for good measure. So, they were going to keep the cat -Becky would love that the next time she visited for sure- but that didn't mean it had to have a stupid name. Not that Steve was an inherently stupid name, but Chuck didn't want the cat to have a name that would make the whole neighborhood think yet another cousin had moved in the first time they called for it.

"Shut up, Chuck," Adam retorted without any heat though, "The last original -and I use that term loosely- names you came up with were Mada for a dragon and Torat for his friend."

Before that Chuck didn't even have to use original names, because the characters of his books already came named, so to say. The most creativity Chuck had put into the names was to not mention most last names and that was more of a legal -and safety- issue than anything else.

"That was the whole joke!" Chuck protested immediately. Of course the not so nasty dragon was called Mada as a jab at Adam and after that it seemed like a fitting idea to put the dragon's brothers Mas and Naed as well as the dragon keeper Torat into the story. All that happened as an inside joke though, not out of laziness. Creativity was something Chuck definitely didn't lack, thank you very much!

"Snuffles," Tarot suddenly said with a small smile.

Both Adam and Chuck looked to their angelic friend just in time to see the kitten disappear under Tarot's sweater. It looked like the kitten had taken a shine to Tarot immediately and was rummaging around between the angel's sweater and t-shirt on the search for the best resting place.

"Her name... Snuffles," Tarot repeated with a definite nod. After all, the kitten had done a lot of sniffing first thing after her nose had been free and it sounded like a cute name for an animal. Not that Tarot would have said anything against naming the kitten Steve, if Adam insisted, but Adam had already taken that name back by himself.

"Awesome," Adam stated with a grin just as Snuffles decided to poke her head out from under Tarot's sweater. Apparently the kitten had settled on the angel's shoulder. Her tiny claws had to be quite sharp and strong in order for her to climb over Tarot that much. It was good that the angel couldn't be hurt easily.

When Snuffles just curled up against Tarot's neck, Adam decided to snap a quick picture and send it to Alice. If Adam set the picture of a smiling Alice -sans costume this time- he received later that day as his background image that was nobody's business.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, Quiet Crash, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, CherylB1964, Lady Grelka, yet again, LeeMarieJack and SummerMistedDragon for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for writing this chapter! (Inspiration evaded me this week...)

* * *

"So we're definitely keeping it a small wedding then right?" Sam asked glancing at the preparation book again.

"Define small?"

"Like family small."

Gabriel just snorted with a small knowing smirk, not even looking up at Sam as he thumbed through the recipe book Sam had gotten him a life time ago.

Sam stared for a moment before smacking a single palm on his forehead. Right, _family_. This to the guy who literally has _thousands_ of brothers.

"Don't worry muffin, I've already sent the invitations out and no, I did not invite all of my family. They're just gonna have to miss out on the open bar as they watch from above," Gabriel said sending a teasing grin his lover's way.

"Open bar?"

"Thousands of brothers Sammykins."

"Fine," Sam said with a sigh. Somehow Gabriel was notorious for getting his way, "So who did you send the invitations to?"

"Oh, you know, just a few special people. You did say you wanted it fairly small after all," Gabriel said with a wink at his loveable moose.

* * *

Samandriel was given a special task at the request of the 'Angel's Defender' as he was now called in heaven. The Archangel Gabriel's battle of courage and sacrifice to liberate all angels into a new age of free thinking was known far and wide among all reaches of heaven. Even the human souls could feel the change, most feeling even more subconsciously at peace than ever. Castiel had worked hard to make every angel hear Gabriel's last message, renewing hope as fear and doubt tried to take hold. Few angels knew what actually happened to the archangels.

Unfortunately, Samandriel just happened to be part of the few. They say never meet your heroes for a reason. While it at been eons since anyone had heard heads or tails from the messenger of God, Samandriel could honestly say that the human he had gotten to know had not exactly been what he had expected. Then again, neither were Michael or Lucifer.

However, the hero of heaven had asked him a favor and he would comply with his elder brother's wishes. No matter how enlightening it was to watch Lucifer actually burst out in a loud and hearty laugh at the sight of Grace dressing up Balthazar up in bright yellow bows and heavy makeup before he was forced to sit down in a chair that was much too small as Grace served him invisible tea. He even caught sight of Nadine snapping a few quick pictures with her phone, one hand over her mouth as her eyes crinkled with apparent mirth.

"I must collect the packages from the given location. Gabriel said that the packages were both invitations to the wedding and small presents of gratitude for any assistances given."

Balthazar scowled at the younger angel from his spot in the small plastic chair. Samandriel noticed the bright pink of the chair clashed slightly with the bright pink blush his brother was sporting.

"Just get on with it mate, I have better things to do than sit here all day," Balthazar grumbled.

The small girl to his right just gasped from her seat at the equally small table, "Better things to do than have a tea party with me and the avengers?"

Balthazar just groaned as Grace had used her puppy eyes on him, only increasing the other adult's amusement. It was interesting to note how that Grace had a knack for breaking all social norms, including gender roles. He recalled her and Lucifer's war reenactment with the use of Barbie dolls. Of course, her action figures were also dressed up similarly to the angel for the tea party. He thought the peach lipstick suited her Thor doll quite nicely.

"I will return to deliver the last of the invitations and reclaim my guard duty swiftly," Alphie said with a slight bow of the head, both in respect to Balthazar and Lucifer. However, only Nadine gave her own bow back with an encouraging grin.

"We'll be alright," Nadine said with a wink, turning her attention back to her daughter's current exploits.

And with that, Samandriel was off.

* * *

When a new gardening set and a large basket containing an impressive collection of seeds was left by the entrance of the garden, Joshua only paused from his normal caretaking to look upon the collection with a grin. Two pieces of paper were left in the basket as well. The first was a note on how the seeds were given to him for if he wanted to start a garden on earth from scratch, a non-grace-powered one that he would be starting with his own two hands.

It was an interesting thought. Joshua had never actually started a garden of his own or even grown a plant from its seeded state, he had only maintained and cared for the garden that his Father had instructed him to. Maybe his Father would even visit him someday in the garden he would construct with his own hands, that was if he could ever get him to stop talking long enough to actually make such request.

The second paper was actually in an envelope, a "You're invited!" card that actually poofed confetti in your face as you opened it. How very… Gabriel. It seemed his brother was getting married to one of the humans who kept dying. The one that was fated to lead Lucifer's army. The thought made him chuckle. Fate truly was a funny thing.

Joshua just smiled to himself and put the gardening set aside for now. He still had work to do after all, especially if he wanted to be able to get away from it for the wedding. A gentle tune emerged from his throat as he hummed through his father's latest rant, continuing with the weeding.

* * *

Crowley rose an eyebrow at the angel that flew into his office, somehow toughing out all levels of hell to do so –not that most demons stood a chance against an angel, but still. Even more curious was the angel didn't say a word. He just left a basket that held several packages wrapped in "My Little Pony" wrapping paper. There was a card and a handwritten note inside too.

Without notice and as fast as the angel appeared he also disappeared leaving the curious and slightly appalling basket behind. Grabbing the note, Crowley took a glance to find a small blurb, appreciation blah blah blah, small token, blah blah blah, peace yadda yadda yadda and a smiley face with its tongue sticking out and a halo over the head scrawled at the bottom.

Crowley decided to just go for the packages next. There were 8 bottles of Craig, 2 of which were ages for over a hundred years, the others a little over fifty. A game board for risk with a sharpie doodle note on the cover about how he can 'finally take over the world' –which Crowley proceeded to roll his eyes at. Lastly there were a few dog bones presumably for the hell hounds.

It was at this stage that he finally decided to move to the card. When confetti popped in his face, one could say Crowley was unamused. However, when he saw the "You're invited" card was actually written to Juliet, his _dog _with nothing in the package for himself, he was out for revenge.

* * *

To his credit, when Samandriel had presented him with the "The Effective Security Officer's Manual" he didn't immediately throw it back at his head, not that it was the younger angel's fault. Along with the book there was a fairly large package wrapped in Hawaiian printed wrapping paper and two notes, one in an envelope.

"Curtesy of Gabriel," Samandriel said simply, nodding toward his gifts.

Otheos begrudgingly gave his younger brother an accepting nod as Samandriel motioned to the two curious baskets in his possession he still had left to deliver, presumably to the other residents of the house. He would snoop later.

He went straight for the box. Wrapping paper aside, he found he was a little taken aback by what it was hiding. After all, what was he to make of the Lego castle set, complete with draw-bridge and small army of knights –including guards. Honestly Otheos wasn't quite sure if he wanted to laugh or feel insulted by the offending object.

He settled for placing the box on his nearly-empty bookshelf to be contemplated later before moving to the papers he was given.

He actually started with the envelope, waving away the mass of glittery rainbow bits of paper that shot out and covered his person without even batting an eye. Who really expected any less from Gabriel after all?

Besides the confetti, the card seemed to be a standard 'You're Invited" card, giving the information of the to-be-wedded couple. With one last glance over the card he moved to the note. Barely a sentence in and he willed the note on fire –somehow not actually damaging anything else- he did not need to be reminded of his failure resulting from Balthazar _again_. With a side glance to check if there was anything else he confirmed there wasn't. However at the second glance at the Manuel he made sure it suffered the same fate as the note.

However, the glower on his face turned into a dark mirth after his phone beeped, revealing some, _interesting_ pictures of his _dear_ brother…. or should he say sister?

He would be sure to thank Nadine later.

* * *

**To be continued! I originally planned on adding another reception in this one, but for those of you that don't know, I broke two fingers in my left hand and am having a little difficulty with typing. My fingers are swelling a bit so I have to stop here unfortunately. ~Treeni**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack, SummerMistedDragon, CherylB1964, yet again, LadyGrelka, yeahscrewthat and Crazy as a Cheshire Cat for last chapter's reviews!

This one was written by yours truly again and beta-read by the wonderful Treeni!

* * *

[takes place between "46 Days Later" and "46 Problems]

"Why do we have to concern ourselves with this?" Balthazar asked with a groan and in a not at all whiny tone. The angel was after all fueled by righteous indignation over having to run small, inconsequential errands when he -and Castiel for that matter- had more important things to do. They had only just more or less taken over heaven! "Why can't Mr. Ballcap just throw this stuff on top of all the other stuff he already has in his dump of a house?"

"Mr. Ballcap?" Castiel cocked his head in confusion. He was reasonably sure that despite his ignorant words Balthazar knew exactly why they had to come to a conclusion concerning the three artifacts that were left intact even after Gabriel worked his spell to make the archangels fall. Apparently, fruit from the tree of life, the Holy Grail and the philosopher's stone were not spell ingredients of the variety that would simply disappear or be destroyed once their purpose was fulfilled. Not that the fact was overly astonishing.

"I was going to say Mr. Flannel, but that could have been anyone," Balthazar retorted with a shrug, "The same goes for Mr. Terrible Fashion Sense."

Thinking about it, there were quite a few other names that applied to basically everyone on the team. Mr. Self-Sacrificing Idiot and Mr. Overly Cocky came to mind. The last one even Balthazar could identify with.

"These are artifacts of great power and they need to be taken back to their rightful storing places!" Castiel insisted after a moment of silence. Castiel had given his brother's words the consideration they deserved -the full split-second of it- but they had to get back to their original discussion.

Balthazar rolled his eyes, but eyed the three objects on the table between them with new interest. Granted, he had always known that they were talking about exceptional and powerful things, but the fact might have slipped from the forefront of his mind for a bit in favor of complaining about the prospect of having another duty placed on his already far too high stack of duties. Balthazar signed up for stopping the Apocalypse and for reforming heaven -or had been conned into these things depending on who was asked- but the latter especially was proving to be far more of a fulltime job than Balthazar was comfortable with.

"Do you ever wonder what would happen, if an angel ate one of those?" Balthazar pondered as he reached for the fruit of the tree of life. The -unnecessarily hard- slap on the hand Balthazar received for his considerations was all the answer he needed and likely would get.

Castiel quickly put the fruit in the pocket of his trench coat. Clearly he would take care of this one. Castiel trusted Balthazar with his life, but it was much harder to trust Balthazar with anything else. In all honesty, Castiel had no idea what would happen if an angel took a bite out of a fruit from the tree of life, but it stood to reason that it couldn't be good. Humanity was still paying for their one taste of the fruit of the tree of knowledge.

At least returning the fruit to Joshua would lead Castiel back to heaven. He had important business to attend to. Gabriel's message had made it easy enough to convince most of the other angels that things had to change, but implementing that change still took a lot of work.

Thinking about it, Castiel could take the Holy Grail as well. It had to be brought back to the heavenly armory. Balthazar would only have to get the philosopher's stone to its storage place in Iceland. Castiel reached for the Grail, only to have his hand slapped away.

"No, I am taking care of this one, Cassy," Balthazar announced with a smirk that couldn't possibly mean anything good. It didn't look like Balthazar's all too apparent mirth was in any way connected to a possible use for the Grail, so Castiel, while slightly skeptical, was willing enough to allow it.

"Very well then," Castiel stated with a small nod, before he quickly took the philosopher's stone, passed it over to Balthazar and disappeared in a flutter of wings.

"Those Winchesters have a bad influence on you!" Balthazar yelled at... nothing. Whatever! He would concern himself with the stupid stone later. For now he had plans for the Grail.

* * *

The heavenly armory looked as pristine as ever. Somebody must have cleaned up after Gabriel and Raphael had their little fight, though that probably didn't disturb the inside of the armory too much. What little of the fight took place in heaven happened in front of the door after all.

On second glance, Balthazar realized that one of the items he had purposefully misplaced the last time he had been in the armory was not where he put it anymore. Balthazar smiled and nodded to himself when he saw that the second and much more inconspicuous misplaced item had been returned to its rightful place as well. Somebody must have indeed reorganized the inventory, which was quite a huge and tedious task.

When Balthazar reached his destination he put the grail back on its rightful place, like the good upstanding angel and brother he was.

On his way out he grabbed a golden orb with a none too subtle cross on top and passed it from one hand to the other a couple of times as he took it from H for Holy artifacts, subdivision A for Antioch to E for Extermination, subdivision B for biological warfare, or B for bunny as Balthazar would refer to it from now on. It was too bad that whoever would right that little misplacement eventually would most definitely not get the joke.

"Greetings, brother!" Balthazar addressed Otheos, as he passed the guard by in a demonstratively casual stride. Balthazar still had another artifact to return and while he was already back on Earth he might as well take the weekend off and check out the sights Iceland had to offer, especially when it came to the local population. Nights in Iceland could be quite long, which promised to be a lot of fun given the right circumstances and company.

"Balthazar!" Otheos bellowed after he took the time to do a double check. No, his mind was not playing tricks on him by conjuring up the image of the one person he wanted to see least, especially around the armory.

"Ah, don't fret brother, I was only in there for a minute, or five, how much damage could I have possibly done?" Balthazar asked casually and with a reassuring smile, before he quickly made his exit. The change of color in Otheos' face promised a world of hurt, if the guard got his hands on him and Balthazar could live without having to pay for his transgressions, like ever.

Otheos' rage filled shout was loud enough to let all of heaven know that something had upset the guard greatly and given his reputation most of them could guess what it had been. Not that Otheos would ever confirm any of the rumors. He would however hand in his resignation and ask to be reassigned to another task as soon as possible. Regrettably, Otheos found he obviously wasn't fit to guard the armory. With a deep swallow Otheos resigned himself to his inevitable termination. It was a safety hazard to heaven if he continued on.

* * *

"Castiel," Joshua greeted his brother with a slight nod, as he leaned on his rake.

"Thank you for letting me enter," Castiel replied, mirroring Joshua's small nod.

Once upon a time the Garden of Eden had been open to all angels, but that changed when the fighting among angels became a threat to the garden. It was up to Joshua to decide who could and could not enter and it was only a very recent development that anyone was allowed inside again.

"You are a fascinating specimen, aren't you Castiel?" Joshua suddenly asked with a smile as he looked around himself, "The woods close to Bobby Singer's house, correct?"

Castiel frowned deeply for a moment, before he took in his surroundings and nodded his answer. The garden looked a lot like the part of the woods Sam and Dean did their weapon training at. Castiel and Gabriel had tagged along on one of the rare, calm days they got during the Apocalypse. Even though firing some of the guns the Winchesters used only occasionally to make sure they still worked properly was a much louder activity than Castiel preferred, it had still been a very enjoyable afternoon. Between Sam and Dean's bickering over who was the better shot and Gabriel's casual flick of his wrist that made a couple of the bottles used for practice explode via angel mojo just to show off, it had been one of the afternoons that saw Castiel smiling more than he usually did in a week.

"You of course realize that angels usually don't shape the garden -or any place in heaven for that matter- the way you just did," Joshua pointed out, clearly amused. The gardener once told Sam and Dean that the Garden looked different for everyone, but strictly spoken that was mostly true for the occasional human that ended up in this part of heaven. Angels generally saw the Garden exactly the way their father made it once upon a time. It could be seen as a lack of imagination, or experience, if Joshua felt like being slightly cynical about it, though somewhere in the very back of his consciousness God agreed with him.

"I came here to return this to you," Castiel stated instead of answering the question as he handed the fruit to Joshua. If he was completely honest, Castiel would have to admit that he wasn't sure what Joshua was hinting at. It wasn't like Castiel made the conscious decision to have the garden represent the woods behind Bobby Singer's home.

"Thank you," Joshua replied, nodding toward his brother before he took an unceremonious bite out of the fruit. Apparently, nothing at all happened when an angel took a bite out a fruit from the tree of life after all.

"Castiel," Joshua called after his brother when the other angel got ready to leave again. There was something else that should be said here while the chance presented itself. Joshua wasn't exactly sure when he would see his brother again. "I take it you will leave us."

"I don't..." Castiel started instinctively, before he allowed the words to fully sink in. He knew exactly what Joshua was talking about, even if Castiel felt that this was not the time to talk about it. "I have work to do. Heaven needs restructuring."

"Of course, but your work will be done eventually," Joshua pointed out.

The small smile that automatically spread over Castiel's face told them both what they needed to know.

* * *

"Now this is a nice surprise," Balthazar stated with a charming smile that hid most of his actual surprise over coming face to face with a woman who could only be described as beautiful. Granted, she had a bit of medieval chic going on, but there was something to be said for long tunic dresses made of heavy fabric that hid by far more than they revealed, but still showed just enough to be promising.

Of course, Balthazar knew that the woman in front of him only appeared to be a woman and was in fact... something else, something not human, but still not demonic or monstrous. Balthazar decided that somehow she just was. That was the best he could do to describe her. Still, the being was in the shape of a beautiful woman with long, flowing light blonde hair, strands of which were held back to keep them out of her face.

The woman raised an eyebrow at Balthazar, but remained impassive otherwise until the angel produced the philosopher's stone's twinkling form from his pocket. After that display she nodded toward Balthazar with a slight smile and gestured for him to enter the cave.

"Oh no, darling, I've heard enough of your little cave to know I don't want to set foot into it," Balthazar stated definitely, though with a tinge of regret in his voice. It stood to reason that she would not come outside and that severely limited the options of what they could do.

A half-smirk appeared on the woman's face as she shrugged lightly as if to say "The last one of you guys who was here wasn't such a coward".

It really was her loss and Balthazar's luck that he could live with being a coward as long as it allowed him to live. Though he would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly tempted to just take a couple of steps into the cave. It was less a matter of principle as it was a matter of curiosity. A beautiful woman -technically, kind of, whatever- all alone, all by herself, for however long... this far she seemed unimpressed by Balthazar, but he was positive they could change that.

"What are the chances you long enough for a solid, warm, manly touch to let me in there and then out again without facing any tests of character?" Balthazar asked with a charming smile. Not that he had anything to fear if faced with any tests of character. Not at all. Absolutely. Period.

Every last tiny bit of temptation Balthazar felt just a moment ago vanished when the woman pulled back her heavy coat and demonstratively put her hand on the handle of her sword while giving the angel a pointed look.

Balthazar straightened his shoulders, nodded to himself and then threw the philosopher's stone over to the woman who caught it easily. This was definitely a risk not worth taking! There were other woman -and men for that matter- in the country who would be more open to his charms. Preferably some that were not armed with magical weapons of unknown origin.

That Balthazar was nearly completely sure that while whatever magic the woman was made of had not seen it necessary to give her a voice, somehow didn't keep him from feeling like she was laughing at him when he retreated.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, Quiet Crash, CherylB1964, yet again, LeeMarieJack, SummerMistedDragon, Lady Grelka and Crazy as a Cheshire Cat for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for once more writing this chapter!

* * *

Sam leaned his back against the head of the bed, slouching into the hotel's provided pillows. A book propped up in long fingers as hazel-green eyes scanned the page. Dean was out with Gabriel at the local shooting range at his older brother's insistence. Gabriel had decided to play hero during their last hunt, a shape shifter had managed to knock Sam out and use him for bait –which of course Dean was still railing on him for.

Dean and Gabriel quickly came to the rescue, so fast in fact that Gabriel was without his normal daggers, wielding instead a single badly balanced machete. Gabriel's weapon hadn't done him much good in the battle, leaving Dean to lead most of the offense. Hunter and monster had ended up in an impromptu wrestling match on the ground each fighting for control. Gabriel sprang into action, grabbing Sam's gun from the pile of his confiscated items in the corner of the room and nailing the shape shifter in the heart. Unfortunately, Gabe's shot had also skimmed Dean's shoulder. Another inch off aim and it would have hit the elder brother in the throat.

Dean was determined to rectify this mistake. Sam had tried to join in the beginning, but Dean insisted his younger brother take some recovery time. However, Sam suspected it was as much about the innuendos Gabriel had been making to Sam about "shooting practice" as it was Sam's head injury -which Castiel had already taken care of after a short prayer from the hunter.

As it was, Sam had decided to take the rare opportunity to relax with a book. The first installment of Lord of the Rings specifically. He had let Gabriel borrow it after they had watched the movie together a few weeks back at Bobby's. The former archangel had finally relinquished it back into the hunter's custody and Sam found himself inspired to relive the epic tale. It was then however, that something curious happened. Turning the page, to nearly a fourth of the way in, a light dusting of rainbow glitter coated his fingers. Odd.

* * *

When Sama...something or rather -Lucifer's guard though she's never spoken directly to him herself- appeared before her and Michael from their seats on the couch, effectively interrupting her explanation of reality television, she had been surprised. When the angel had wordlessly bowed before presenting a large woven basket full of wrapped gifts separated by some shiny fake grass.

When the angel, who she had remembered Nadine's little girl leading around by his sleeves on Christmas, solemnly bowed to Michael while donned in a lavender Hello Kitty sweater, Hope was amused. Michael on the other hand had no outward reaction to the angel's fashion choice and returned a poised bow of his own.

"From Gabriel," The teenager looking angel monotoned. Though, she was sure he was really much older than herself. In fact, he was probably older than humanity.

Michael nodded seriously and accepted the offering as his eyes immediately scanned over the hand-written note addressed to him before quickly discarding it with an eye roll. Hope had to bite down giggles once she got a closer look. It was labeled, though she wasn't sure how Gabriel knew for sure they would be together upon reception. Maybe just a hunch? Michael's side bared a few box shaped items all wrapped in very cutesy angel covered wrapping paper, complete with harps, horns and halos. Her side had a few wrapped gifts as well, though the wrapping paper used on hers must have been custom ordered because she was staring down at grinning troll faces. Her own grin was almost as wide as the cartoon's as Michael stared at both sets of pictures with a perplexed expression.

The angel had disappeared without a word, but Hope would have been laughing too hard to realize anyway as Michael opened up the envelope on his side and then was covered in a majestic cloud of glitter.

"Rainbow suits you," Hope said with a snerk. Michael gave her a flat look. Suddenly though, he smirked and grabbed her in a less than loving hug. Michael only released her from his punishing embrace after making sure she too was thoroughly glitterfied.

After sticking out her tongue in mature retaliation and decided to go for the presents. She handed Michael his smallest gift first, small enough to fit neatly in the palm of her hand. Hope watched as Michael painstakingly removed the wrapping paper, damaging it as little as physically possible before removing the enclosed item, "You're doing it wrong."

"There is a wrong way to unwrap paper?" Michael questioned his head tilting slightly. However he did not look up from his precise tugging at the translucent tape.

Midway Hope decided to intervene and poked his side causing a noisy tear down the middle as she grinned cheekily at him. Michael rose an eyebrow at her before shaking his head before removing the small box from the wrappings all together. It held a card. For swimming lessons.

Dropping the card back into the basket, Michael settled for rubbing his temples as Hope burst into giggles remembering the sodden state she had found him in. In her defense, she had mostly stifled her laughter as Michael began with painstaking care the revealing of his second gift, only to start up again when it was revealed. A nerf broadsword was revealed with a dozen or so small holes throughout the body of foam. Small enough that they didn't seem to hinder the swords form.

"...Did your brother really send you a holy sword?" Hope asked unable to hold back her amusement at the whole situation.

"So it seems," Even Michael managed to crack a small grin before shaking his head, "Gabriel always did have a love for word play… and exploiting it."

"Ooo there's a tag!" Hope chirped excitedly noticing the little note hanging by a thin cord.

**REPLACEMENT SWORD OF MICHAEL**

**(I hope this will suffice. I kinda need Dean… or Sam does at least. 0 :P**

**I named it Bob.)**

When Hope's sides actually pained her from laughing, Michael plucked out a troll face covered gift from her side before setting it in her still shaking lap expectantly. Ripping the paper without restraint as per present unwrapping protocol, Hope had revealed the book underneath in mere seconds. However, she wasn't quite sure what to make of "All My Friends Are Still Dead" and a glance at Michael revealed he was just as lost by the sentiment.

That was, until she revealed bookmarks, annotations and sharpie drawings. However when it was revealed that Gabriel had doodled a "Hello My Name Is: Michael" sticker onto the robot on page ten, said referenced former angel quickly snapped the book closed. Hope made a silent promise to explore it thoroughly later with all its wonderful additions.

When the young wife's second present revealed a nerf gun that was tagged "The Heifer" it was Michael this time who burst into a deep throaty laughter. He just pointed helplessly at the sun amateurly carved into the plastic handle and was lost even further to breathlessness. Hope somehow knew she was missing something. Well that was all for the presents at least.

The young woman smiled at the hand written note left to her. It was short, sweet and yet touching. Hope reached for her own card. Only when she realized hers was both larger and thicker than her fiancé's did she start to sweat. She had been prepared for glitter, it's not like their couch wasn't already permanently exposed to the herpes of craft supplies. Both of their hair would have an extra sheen for days. With a steadying breath she unleashed what she knew could very well be her doom. The front was normal enough. A normal "You're invited!" in big black letters. While it did contrast the rainbow type on Michael's card, it was hardly revealing to the possibly concerning contents.

After steeling herself, she ripped open the card as fast as she ripped the paper from her gifts. True to character, what was inside was not what the young woman had expected at all. A pop up picture of a cartoony shirtless man sprang forward with badly cut wings taped messily to the back and just as the shock value of it all had started to settle, the card started to play music.

"_It's raining men! Hallelujah it's raining men! Amen!"_

It was too much for the girl.

Michael -unsuccessfully- willed the card that displayed a poor likeness of himself to burn. He only found himself mildly concerned for Hope when her odd mixture of snorts and laughter led her to fall off the couch.

* * *

A year ago, Garth Fitzgerald the fourth had been blissfully unaware of the existence of angels. Tooth fairies, vampires, witches, gods, sure, but angels? In fact, even now when the visage of a young man teleported in front of the hunter who was in the middle of tying up a lesser witch, he had first thought demon. However, after a moment, Garth had recognized the transformation from a previous case. The angel had then literally snapped the witch out of existence. It just saved Garth the extra work honestly.

Garth gave the new comer a nod of appreciation, "Thanks a lot man!"

The angel smiled back, "I am Samandriel. I have come representing Gabriel."

"Nice shirt by the way," Garth said without a hint of insincerity. It was actually pretty exciting to have an angel smile at you. Kind of like a hug. Honestly though Garth was just relieved that he hadn't come across any hostile angels in his travels, "Gabriel? Sam's boyfriend?"

"The very same," Samandriel said with welcoming patience before handing over handing over a card.

To his credit, Garth laughed when he suddenly found himself much more colorful… and sparkly.

"Of course I'll come!" Garth said with a grin that seemed almost impossibly wide for his facial shape.

Samandriel just held his own small, formal smile, "Gabriel will be pleased, but there is one other thing," The angel produced a single box with holes in it and a note.

Garth wordlessly accepted the note, his eyes widening at the scrawl before darting to the box still in the angel's grip. He swiftly moved over to lift the flaps up. In lay a small brown and black fluff ball. He quickly, but carefully took the small ball into gentle fingers. As the form uncurled, it revealed a small Lakeland terrier, only a few weeks old. Garth quickly brought the small form close to his self and his fingers were licked as reward.

Tears welled in the corners of the hunter's eyes as he gave the angel a watery smile and sniffed once, "He… he said he didn't want me to be alone."

Samandriel's smile widened fractionally and he gave the hunter a nod of understanding.

When the hunter looked down to the pup again, an actual tear finally running down his face, the angel was gone. Garth just laughed fondly, wiping his eyes with the palm of his free hand before his attention returned back to the little animal that yipped at him, "I'm gonna name you Buck."

* * *

**Treeni's note:**

Remember these chapters bounce around the timelines my little "You're invited" series actually takes place pretty far down our timeline. So we'll probably be seeing Garth sometime again soon… in the past. ;) *wiggles fingers* timey whimey wibbly wobbly ball of stuff. Also Buck is a mild reference to the fact the Becky technically brought them together.

My friends and I have been exchanging puns recently. I think that bled through. Heh. I didn't really intend for Hope and Michael to get almost their own chapter, but that's kinda what happened. Oopse. I had only written them now because it made sense that they proceeded Otheos being in the same vicinity and all. I just kinda imagine Samandriel to be sort of an efficient deliverer. Plus Hope and Michael doing coupley things was fun to write. I missed exploring Hope's character. She just haven't gotten much character development recently, no one's fault, but plot got in the way. (that bastard! Lol) Nadine Lucifer and Grace will probably get their own chapter of this little series as well, but I promise a larger mixture of characters next one.

Also would you all like a chapter of the letters? I did not include them purposely, but at the same time I do know what they say.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Quiet Crash, Nicolene B, LadyGrelka, yet again, LeeMarieJack, SummerMistedDragon, Sandra Marques, Greeting'sAndSaltations, Alexandra Mills and Rude Americano for last chapter's reviews!

Not yet beta-read.

* * *

"I thought newspapers took away whatever little faith in humanity you managed to build up," Nadine stated with a slight grin when the picture of Lucifer with the morning paper in his hands greeted her upon entering the kitchen.

With all the more or less strange things Lucifer developed a liking or dislike to over the months, Nadine had to admit that she could understand his view on newspapers. Most of the reports were of negative things, making them sound even worse than strictly necessary in a lot of cases, and what so-called human interest stories there were, were sappy enough to make someone gag.

However, Nadine would never understand or support Lucifer's opinion on Spongebob Squarepants. Though it was pretty funny that Lucifer couldn't even blame his fondness of the program on Gracie, because Gracie for her part was pretty indifferent to the show.

"They do," Lucifer replied seriously and without looking up from the newspaper.

It might have been a worrying statement, if not for the fact that passing Lucifer by Nadine could clearly see that he was in fact only reading the cartoon pages. So the devil wasn't looking for an excuse to go back to hating all -except for one- humans, he simply was a Garfield fan. Nadine had reached a point where that wasn't even too surprising anymore.

What was surprising was that Lucifer automatically reached for two sugar cubes to put into Nadine's coffee when she put the mug on the kitchen table though. The sugar bowl was on the table next to Lucifer, but still...

"Mommy," Gracie mumbled as she shuffled into the kitchen. She didn't even have to cough up a lung for her mother to know that something was wrong. Not that Gracie had much of a say when it came to coughing at the moment.

Nadine immediately went to check on Gracie, which gave Lucifer the chance to turn to Samandriel and give his younger brother a glare. Granted, it was a half-hearted glare, because in all honesty Lucifer had started to really think of Samandriel as one of his beloved brothers a while ago, but the glare was still necessary.

"How could you let this happen?" Lucifer asked in a clearly accusing tone, that wasn't quite as harsh as it could have been. Still, Samandriel was the guardian angel of the house so to say, so he should have seen the first signs of illness in Grace and put a stop to them immediately!

"I have been told to keep things as normal as possible around the house," Samandriel explained patiently. It wasn't too surprising for Lucifer to accuse Samandriel of things now and then and the seraph had gotten used to it. It helped that Samandriel now knew that Lucifer simply expressed worry by first throwing accusations around and only then dealing with the problem at hand.

"And this is..?" Lucifer groaned, looking over to Gracie who was being fuzzed over by her mother. It was normal for Gracie to come bouncing down the stairs, complain halfheartedly about having to go to school and then chatter on about what she wanted to do in the afternoon. It was normal for Gracie to be healthy. Period.

"Yes, it is," Nadine answered before Samandriel could say anything, "Samandriel is here to help us with things we cannot handle on our own. This we can handle."

There was a moment in which Lucifer and Nadine's eyes met and entire unspoken argument about the situation happening between them in just a second. Lucifer knew he wasn't going to win this one though. Of course, Nadine would be more than willing to let Samandriel fix anything that was in any way threatening and she would ask the angel to fix Gracie's sickness if it got worse. As things were, Nadine had made up her mind and wasn't going to give in. She was a stubborn woman that one, Lucifer had to give her that. In all honesty, it was one of Nadine's qualities he really valued.

"Are you trying to get yourself infected now?" Lucifer frowned deeply when Nadine kissed Gracie's forehead before straightening up again.

"The skin of lips is thinner than on hands," Gracie explained between sniffles, "'S better to take the temperature like that."

At least that was what Gracie's mother always told her. It also helped that kisses always made everything better, but the explanation sounded logical enough. Her mom was very good at knowing just how high Gracie's temperature was before the thermometer came out too.

Nadine nodded along with her daughter's explanation, before she patted Gracie's back and announced, "Okay, you go back to bed. I'll call your school and then bring up some breakfast."

Gracie coughed once more before she went to grab Lucifer's hand and drag him upstairs with her. The good thing about being sick was that somebody had to stay with her and read stories to her or otherwise entertain her and Gracie was determined to get the most out of this cold she could. Not that Lucifer wouldn't do what she wanted him to do usually, but still.

"'S not so bad, Luci," Gracie stated as they made their way upstairs, squeezing her angel's hand reassuringly, "I get to stay home from school 'til I'm all better."

Lucifer considered all that with a thoughtful expression and then nodded. Maybe the situation wasn't all bad. Grace sure seemed to think that everything was half as bad. At least they could use the extra time to get further into the world of Harry Potter.

"Ya can maybe talk to Mandy, if I'm still sick for the weekend," Gracie concluded with a grin as she opened the door to her bedroom.

"You can bet on that," Lucifer replied automatically. Weekends were for having fun and relaxation, not for being sick after all. Besides, they had plans to go to the zoo.

* * *

"I brought tea!" Gracie announced in a much too upbeat tone as she opened the door to Lucifer's nearly completely darkened bedroom. A flick of the light switch caused a deep groan and what were most likely mumbled profanities from Lucifer, but Gracie wouldn't demand money for the swearing jar under the circumstances.

"I brought tea!" Gracie repeated, holding out the steaming mug for Lucifer, who only just opened his blanket cocoon up enough to even look at her.

"I don't like tea," Lucifer replied in a very nasal tone, due to a thoroughly stuffed nosed. Tea was flavored hot water and Lucifer didn't like his water warm or flavored. Unless it was properly flavored like in coffee or with orange juice or something alike.

"I also brought the cartoon pages," Gracie sing-songed, waving a part of the newspaper in front of Lucifer's nose and then hopping on the bed when Lucifer scooted over to make place for her. "So Jon is saying..."

Lucifer allowed Grace's reciting of the cartoon pages to lull him back to sleep after a while. To be fair, Nadine said she would not say anything about Lucifer asking Samandriel to heal him, but Lucifer's pride didn't allow him to ask for angelic assistance when Gracie could live through the same without complaining.

The next time Lucifer opened his eyes Nadine was standing in front of him with yet another cup of that blasted tea. To her credit, she also brought what had to be a cool glass of water with her. That one Lucifer could use.

"At least this time you get to ride it out inside the house, huh?" Nadine asked with a crooked smile, as she watched Lucifer untangle himself from the sheets and reach for the water. It was also more than likely that the pain that came with the common cold was nowhere close to the pain Lucifer had been in after falling and dealing with his body starting to shut down on him.

"It is preferable," Lucifer commented after he took the time to sniffle dramatically. Gracie taught him that the good thing about illnesses was that there was always someone around to take care of the sick one and favors were granted much more easily during such times. Not that Lucifer had a favor to ask of Nadine just yet, but maybe he would think of something later.

"Doesn't feel like you have a fever," Nadine commented, after she held the back of her hand against Lucifer's forehead for a moment.

"What did I do to offend you now?" Lucifer groaned, trying to give Nadine an unnerved look that didn't quite come out as planned. If anyone told Lucifer that he ended up looking more like a kicked puppy he would deny it with all he had, but the description was still fitting.

"What?" Nadine asked ineloquently. Where did that conclusion come from? She hadn't said anything that could lead Lucifer to believe that she was mad at him, had she?

"Clearly the ineffective method of measuring temperature is good enough for me," Lucifer retorted trying and failing to put all the righteous indignation he felt into his voice.

Nadine frowned for a moment, before the meaning behind Lucifer's accusation hit her. With anyone else Nadine would have suspected a rather stupid try at a pickup line, but Lucifer was clearly honestly hurt, thinking that she didn't deem him worthy of the best care. A fond smile spread over Nadine's face as she leaned in to press her lips against Lucifer's forehead for a long moment.

"No, still no fever," Nadine proclaimed after clearing her throat a little awkwardly, still smiling at Lucifer though.

Lucifer nodded contently and leaned back into his pillows. If this went like it did for Gracie he would feel much better the following day already and if he didn't Nadine would have to check his temperature again. Actually, that part of being sick had been quite nice.

* * *

"You're unreasonably stubborn in this, commander," Otheos stated with a raised eyebrow that Michael could only describe as mocking. Not that Otheos ever called Michael 'commander' unless he wanted to mock him in the first place.

"If Lucifer can stand this and call it a learning experience, so can I!" Michael insisted once again, before he had to reach for the box of tissues to blow his nose once more. In all honesty, Michael was mostly just curious what exactly could be a learning experience about being sick. So far he didn't see any upsides to feeling like he had been run over by a truck... or fallen a couple thousand feet into the sea just to nearly drown while making it to dry land. The second comparison was fitting for the most part as Michael could attest from his own experience.

"No chance, Otheos," Hope commented with a shrug as she passed the guard by, a bowl of chicken soup in her hands, "I tried to bait him with sex and that didn't work."

Both Michael and Otheos groaned at that statement. Otheos because he still was of the opinion that his guarding position didn't mean he had to know about Michael's sex life and Michael because he didn't think that anybody had to know anything about their sex life. For some reason Hope seemed to like to overshare in that regard, not only with Otheos either. The only good thing about that was that she never had any complaints to make.

"I still don't see what the learning experience here is and I will not-" Michael was rudely interrupted by his urge to sneeze, but he was sure he had made his point clear anyway.

Otheos rolled his eyes and left the room. Clearly his angelic abilities were not needed here and Hope was there for everything else, so he could go back to his room and play a couple rounds of darts.

"Maybe the learning experience is that it's quite nice to be pampered now and then," Hope guessed with a patient smile as she set the soup bowl down, fluffed up Michael's pillow and arranged the blanket around him when he sat up, "But clearly I'm already pampering you so much on an average day that you don't see the lesson here."

Michael's face scrunched up in consideration. In fact, he was thinking so hard that he only noticed something was off when he opened his mouth to accept the spoon Hope was holding out for him for the third time. "I can do that myself."

"Just dialing up the pampering a notch," Hope grinned, but gave up the spoon readily when Michael reached for it.

"This is good," Michael commented after a few moments of silence, "Is it a family recipe?"

"If you're asking, if my aunt used to make chicken soup for me when I was ill, then yes," Hope answered with a small smile, "If you wanted chicken soup the way I got during my childhood, I'd have had to hand you a dollar and tell you to go buy a packet."

"You'll have to show me how to cook this, so I can make some when you're ill," Michael stated with conviction, abandoning his soup in favor of wrapping his arms around his wife.

"I'll gladly show you how to cook chicken soup," Hope replied, leaning into her husband's embrace, "But next time I'm ill, I'll tell Otheos to heal me asap."

Michael still didn't really know what the big learning experience Lucifer talked about was supposed to be, but he had to admit that he had learned something that day.

* * *

"Nobody said this was part of the 'learning experience'!" Gabriel spat -quite literally- once he was able to lift his head a little further away from the toilet bowl.

Sam continued rubbing Gabriel's back as he steadied his fiancé. The way Gabriel's entire body was trembling made it look all too likely that he could lose control over his limbs and fall to the floor or bang his head on the toilet bowl. Sam wasn't going to take any chances here! Not to mention that Gabriel was feeling awful enough without having to go through all this by himself.

"Can I call Cas now?" Sam asked, trying not to sound like he was actually saying 'I told you to call Cas right after you woke up covered in sweat and shivering'.

Gabriel nodded, trying to give Sam a grateful smile just before he had to retch into the toilet again. Screw learning experiences!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, CherylB1964, QuietCrash, Lady Grelka, yet again, Anya Braginskaya, LeeMarieJack, Sandra Marques and SummerMistedDragon for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

[January 1st, 2011 - a few months after the events of 46 Problems]

"So get this, apparently someone died in the bakery," Sam announced, after he had done what looked like super intense and ultra serious typing over his laptop from Gabriel's perspective. Gabriel knew what Sam's usual typing sounded like, but this had been a sort of aggressive, 'I'm under pressure' typing. Still, Sam couldn't possibly expect Gabriel not to say anything. They were talking about death in a bakery!

"Not in any way that could be described as remotely fun," Sam pointed out, before Gabriel managed to make his quip about how death by pastry didn't sound too bad to him.

"Spoilsport," Gabriel pouted half-heartedly as he pushed himself up from the bed and into a sitting position. Just lying around, staring at the ceiling and Sam alternatingly was about the most useful he could be while Sam did his research thing, but now that they had a name it looked like Gabriel's skill set might come into play as well. "So, any idea where he was buried?"

Sam only had enough time to nod, before Dean burst through the door to their room.

"Allison just called. Let's go!" Dean exclaimed in a clearly urgent tone, before he was already halfway out the door again. The current owner of the bakery was number one on the list of next possible victims, so a distress call coming from her was reason enough to get moving quickly.

"Not that this isn't nice, but..." Gabriel stated to break the silence that had fallen over the Impala once they left the motel parking lot, "Any chance we'll actually get to celebrate New Year's in a somewhat more normal way? Or at least less... matter of life-and-death way?"

To be fair, driving cross country on New Year's Eve had its perks. They had seen a lot more fireworks from a lot more different places than they usually would have for the celebration. Dean also told Sam to just sit in the back with Gabriel since he wasn't going to pull over for something gushy like a midnight kiss, which had definitely made the whole situation better for everyone.

To tell the truth, spending the evening cuddled up to Sam, making idle conversation while Dean was driving, playing his favorite music and adding his two cents to the topic they were discussing every now and then was pretty damn good. At the start of his human life Gabriel had some troubles believing that he could ever gets as comfortable in the Impala as Sam and Dean were, but over the months he had learned to love that car. Dean's two ton baby was basically a family member too and looking at their family somehow that didn't even seem so weird.

Besides, the church thing followed by a community party afterward that Michael said he and Hope would go to didn't sound too appealing to Gabriel, even if Hope had plans to spike the punch. In fact, the community party sounded fine, it was more the church part Gabriel wasn't sure he would enjoy. Still the family movie and game night Lucifer, Gracie, Nadine and Samandriel had planned sounded better.

Dean huffed out a humorless chuckle as he replied, "Hello, our name is Winchester, let me introduce you to the family business."

* * *

The bakery was completely dark and seemed abandoned when they arrived, but Dean insisted that Allison had been there when she called him just a couple of minutes earlier so they had to at least go in.

This was how Sam and Gabriel found themselves sneaking around to the backdoor of the bakery, as Dean tried to pick the safety lock of the front door. The fact that the backdoor was ajar while all lights were out and everything was deadly quiet didn't exactly bode well for the owner of the place. Gabriel instinctively reached for his trusty dagger, but Sam shook his head and passed a bag of rock salt to his fiancé instead. Gabriel took the salt and nodded toward the door.

Sam returned the nod and reached out to push the door open for Gabriel to storm in and banish the ghost, or at least distract the thing. At least that was the plan, but just as Gabriel entered he was momentarily blinded by the sudden appearance of bright lights. Gabriel liked to think that this alone would not have made him panic, but the noise was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Surprise!" everyone yelled in unison. Everyone but Balthazar that was. The angel had only gotten as far as to open his mouth for the exclamation when he got a face full of rock salt thrown at him. It was that moment Otheos decided that he would not even try to look for a chance to punch Balthazar that evening. Watching the stupid, snobbish asshat pull a face as he tried to get the salt out of his mouth as quickly as possible was satisfaction enough for a while.

"Happy Birthday," Sam chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Gabriel's shoulders from behind and kissed the flabbergasted former archangel's cheek.

"Bir-... what?" Gabriel stammered. He was still too busy to look at all the assembled people and fully process what just happened. Gabriel expected to find a ghost and possibly a dead body, not a bunch of people he considered family and good friends.

In fact, it looked like everyone had come for this little surprise. Even Tarot was standing at the back of the room. Judged by how nervous Tarot looked, it was unlikely that he -and thus possibly Adam and Chuck- would stay long, but they were there. Gabriel took a moment to wonder why nobody other than Garth was wearing a party hat, but was distracted when Sam answered his question.

"You chose the date yourself, don't tell me you forgot," Sam replied, still audibly amused. Actually, Gabriel wasn't even the only birthday boy in the room, but luckily Michael and Lucifer had no objections to having a joint party that would only be a surprise party for one of them.

"I... right. Right!" Gabriel exclaimed, a wide grin spreading over his face before he quickly turned around to give Sam a passionate kiss. Sam was left breathless and a little dizzy when Gabriel released him in favor of squeezing the life out of Michael and Lucifer, then greeting and hugging everyone else.

"This was a great idea," Sam told Dean with a smile. Balthazar snorted at those words and shook his head demonstratively sending some salt flying before he moved on to the liquor table. Everyone else already seemed to have a good time though.

Credit where credit was due, Sam only mentioned that Gabriel's chosen birthday was coming up, it was Dean who remembered the haunted bakery they worked a case at when they were still hunting with their father. All they had to do was pretend that it was a current case and keep Gabriel from finding out that it wasn't. Allison was happy to help out the people who made sure she didn't die as a teenager who was unlucky enough to be related to the man responsible for the angry spirit's death.

"Yeah yeah, just don't tell him I had anything to do with this," Dean replied, though it didn't sound like he seriously expected his younger brother not to blab. In fact, Dean might be a little disappointed if Gabriel never learned of his involvement, but it wasn't too likely that Sam wouldn't give him credit. His little brother's moral code knew few bounds. Still there was something else that had to be said, "And if you tell him, also mention I only did it for the best pie in the mid-west."

Speaking of the best pie in the mid-west, Dean would have to make sure to secure some for himself, before the others discovered it. On his way to the table with all the baked goods, Dean grabbed Castiel's shoulder and pulled him along. Things at a buffet could turn ugly in a heartbeat and Dean wanted to have an angel by his side when that happened. He also wanted to introduce Castiel to this special pie, the angel hadn't been convinced by the last one Dean made him try, but this one he would just have to love… even if Dean would have to force-feed him until he liked it.

"Enjoying your birthday?" Hope asked, handing Michael a -absolutely not spiked- glass of punch.

"Oh, I already enjoyed it immensely this morning, but this is nice too," Michael answered with one of his rarely seen smirks. Not that there had been even a trace of doubt that Michael loved his birthday present. Though it was very hard to buy something for a man who had everything he needed and didn't want for anything more.

Hope didn't doubt that Michael would have appreciated anything she could have gotten for him simply because it came from her, but that wasn't good enough. In the end Hope decided for the classic route and found the closest lingerie store. After fighting her own sense of humor for a while, she decided to play it nice and get something for her to wear instead of checking out the men's section. There were no doubt, some nice and not too kinky things to be found in the men's section as well, but Hope doubted she would have managed to resist if she was already going in that direction.

"Just look at that, a couple more months with me and you'll master the art of innuendo," Hope laughed, swatting Michael's arm playfully.

Michael rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, but before he could find the right words for a fitting reply he felt like someone was looking at him. It wasn't hard to figure out who was watching him, since there weren't too many people in the room Michael hadn't met before. Not that he could blame the youngest Winchester -Milligan- brother for staring for a little -or a lot- too long. They had never met in person and the young man no doubt knew who Michael's body was a copy of.

In the end, Adam just gave Michael a crooked smile and a shrug before he turned to talk to Chuck instead. It was then that Michael's eyes met Tarot's for a moment. After a moment of just looking at each other -and being surprised that Tarot didn't avoid his gaze immediately on Michael's part- Michael gave a slow nod, which Tarot answered with a barely, but still there smile.

Hope frowned. She wasn't entirely sure what it was she just witnessed, but it felt important. Angels seemed to be quite good at silent conversations in general. Maybe she would ask Michael about it later on.

"I think I could get used to this whole birthday business," Lucifer mused with a small smile. Granted, he still didn't see the use in celebrating birthdays after millennia of barely bothering to count the years, but at least the gathering of people he -mostly- liked was enjoyable.

"Course you can! Birthdays are awesome!" Gracie stated vigorously nodding her head. In fact, Gracie was already trying to figure out how to get everyone to throw her a party like this for her next birthday. Of course, she would like to have a couple more children around then, but there would have to be a huge table of cakes and other sweets again for sure!

"But next year I don't want an 'I heart humans' mug," Lucifer huffed, to which Gracie only nodded all too quickly, "No t-shirt either."

Gracie crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted at that announcement. Next year she and Samandriel would have to up their game then.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, SummerMistedDragon, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, CherylB1964, yet again, LadyGrelka and Sandra Marques for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

As I'm about to take my final exams for my master's degree (and it's my birthday next week to boot... yay) I can't promise a chapter for next week. Treeni might be able to get one out though.

* * *

"Found anything?" Dean asked after he was done leafing through yet another magazine. Not even the World Weekly News had any leads on a new hunt for them. The best Dean had found was about a woman who claimed that she had seen a real life walking, talking gingerbread man. As the article gave no indication that the cookie started killing -or in the very least endangering- people, it became clear that it wasn't exactly something for them to check out.

"Nothing that Bobby hasn't already flagged as somebody else's case," Sam answered with a light shrug. With Jody's help and some misuse of state property, Bobby managed to put together a kind of database for hunters that let everyone know when somebody else was already on the case. It was very useful for sure, but at that moment it seemed like it put the final nail in the coffin of Dean's hopes of finding a new case fast. They might actually have a little down time on their hands.

"Wait, wait, does that mean what I think it means?" Gabriel asked, a wide grin spreading over his face as he considered the possibilities that had just opened up, "Do we actually have time for a couple days at the beach? No, wait, how about a state fair? Or both. Both is good!"

Sam chuckled at his fiancé's enthusiasm and nodded slightly. They had some time to spare for all it looked like and they were at the west coast, so why not have some fun? Dean was probably only curbing his enthusiasm, because he was disappointed Gabriel came up with it first. Before Dean could voice his opinion, Castiel appeared in the middle of the motel room, as he was prone to do.

"Adam sends his greetings," Castiel announced with a small smile. The moment Castiel spotted the -clearly defect and in generally bad shape- antique clock at the store when Dean and the angel went to interrogate the owner, he knew that Tarot would love to repair it. Castiel didn't buy things often, but when he saw the opportunity to make his brother happy, he seized it.

"Good thing you're back, we were just talking about what to do until the next case comes up," Dean explained. Chances were Castiel would be with them for most of the time, so he should have a vote too, even though it seemed unlikely that Cas would come up with something fun to do. Actually, Gabriel's state fair idea wasn't half bad and Dean could dig the beach idea as well, as long as they made sure the Impala wouldn't get covered in sand again. "We'll have to get you some trunks."

Castiel frowned deeply, but didn't comment. If Dean said he would need bathing shorts, then he would need them. It probably was another one of Dean's attempts to get him to fully appreciate and enjoy life on Earth. Castiel didn't have the heart to tell Dean that he was enjoying himself plenty ever since things in heaven were up and running without him for the most part. Dean was too happy to introduce him to all sorts of things for Castiel to spoil his fun.

Gabriel gave the obligatory fist pump of victory at hearing that Dean basically just agreed to his plans. This time he would use enough of the stupid sun block too. After all he also had plans for the nights of their down time, that he courteously would not let Dean in on, and having every touch of his skin hurt would be really bad for those.

"Quit it!" Dean groaned, throwing the magazine he had still been holding into Gabriel's general direction, "I know that look, Shorty. I know what you're thinking about. Stop it!"

Gabriel was about to defend himself, verbally as well as physically, when Dean suddenly sneezed. After giving Dean a moment to recover, Gabriel once more opened his mouth to hold a speech in defense of his right to undress Sam in his mind whenever the hell he wanted to, when Dean sneezed again.

"Don't tell me you suddenly caught a cold at the mention of a beach vacation," Gabriel huffed out a chuckle after Dean sneezed for the third time in a row.

"No, that's not..." Dean groaned, before he had to sneeze once more. Looking around the room quickly and critically, Dean asked, "How'd the cat get in here?"

Sam frowned, but then joined his brother in his half-hearted search. Chances that a cat got in without any of them noticing were very slim, but something somewhat similar had happened before. Those little monsters apparently had special powers when it came to being both where they shouldn't and where nobody expected them to be.

"Are you, Dean Winchester, brought to your knees by the mere -yet unproven- presence of... pussy?" Gabriel couldn't help laughing, no matter how hard Dean was staring daggers at him for the stupid joke. Alright, allergies were no fun and Gabriel would do his part in finding whatever had caused that reaction in Dean and remove it from the room, but he just had to have a little fun with it before that. The gag practically told itself.

It was then that a tiny, pitch black head peeked out of the pocket of Castiel's coat. Castiel was the first to notice, if only because the kitten immediately went for the angel's hand and started to gnaw and scratch on his finger.

"Cas," Dean groaned, rolling his eyes as best he could as they were already starting to feel all scratchy, "Not cool, dude."

"I didn't know..." Castiel replied, his frown deepening by the second as the kitten got its claws into the sleeve of his trench coat and started to climb steadily upward. Only a couple moments passed until Castiel came face to face -literally- with the tiny black thing. The kitten gave a surprisingly loud meow and licked Castiel's nose while perching so close to it. "I find it quite endearing."

"Good for you," Dean huffed, "Just keep that thing away from me."

Sam and Gabriel exchanged a look. Apparently both of them had come to the same conclusion at about the same time. Adam mentioned the addition to their little ragtag group of roommates -and cousins, on paper anyway- during their last phone call.

"It is not a thing," Castiel replied, sounding a little offended on behalf of the kitten, "Felines are quite majestic creatures. Did you know that having a cat around can be really good for one's health?"

As if to prove Castiel wrong, Dean immediately sneezed again, then muttered, "As long as it doesn't have a name, it's a thing."

"I am sure it has in fact a name," Castiel retorted, still as stoic as ever, but Sam couldn't help thinking that their angelic friend was discovering more and more of his rebellious streak. To think that the angels had thought he was a rebel before... They would probably have a collective stroke if they ever saw Castiel's more sassy side.

"Oh yeah? Let's hear it," Dean crossed his arms in front of his chest in a clear challenge. He wasn't going to take 'there's no word for it in human' for an answer. Not this time.

"Dean... Junior," Castiel proclaimed, "It's Dean Junior."

Gabriel couldn't help laughing loudly at that, which incidentally was the first thing Adam heard when he picked up the phone. Not that Adam didn't like to hear his future brother in law laugh, but he was a little busy at the moment and Gabriel's laugh was much too loud to come directly over the phone's speakers, pressed up against Adam's ear, as it did.

"Are you... missing a little something?" Gabriel asked as soon as he managed to stop laughing, "A little black something."

Castiel and Dean were still staring each other down over the question how valid Castiel's answer had been. Neither one of them was willing to give in as it looked like. Gabriel was nearly sorry that having Adam confirm that Castiel had accidentally abducted -not to say catnapped- their kitten would put an end to this all too soon.

"Snuffles is with you?" Adam let out a relieved breath. Luckily Tarot was not missing his little friend yet, the angel would have been heartbroken to find Snuffles missing. Not to mention Chuck. As opposed to cats as Chuck had started out as, he was the one of them who spoiled Snuffles the most. Between the treatment Tarot and Chuck gave the kitten, Snuffles had already doubled in size and was now a completely healthy kitten with shining eyes and sleek fur.

"Snuffles?" Gabriel asked, amusement all too apparent in his voice, "I know of no Snuffles, but Castiel has a black kitten by the name of Dean Junior on his shoulder."

"Dean..." Adam managed to say before he broke into loud laughter himself. It took some time before Adam managed to calm down enough to talk again. "Gabe, do me a solid and inform my brother that Snuffles is a girl."

Knowing that Castiel had to know that from the moment he laid eyes on the kitten as well made everything even funnier. So on top of not having to explain to Tarot, Chuck and Alice that Snuffles was missing, Adam now had an awesome new name to call the kitten whenever Dean was around to hear it.

* * *

A couple days later Adam was trying to read his anatomy text book when Tarot's phone kept announcing text messages. That by itself was not too weird. Every now and then Gabriel was struck by a mood and decided to spam his little brother with whatever funny messages and pictures he could find. It turned out that Gabriel could find a whole lot of those things too. Social media was to blame for that for sure. What was unusual was the way Tarot kept glancing at Adam and then quickly averted his gaze again when Adam looked back at him.

"Okay, what's Gabriel planning?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow. If Gabriel was planning any pranks that included him, Adam damn well wanted to know as soon as possible.

"It's not... it's not Gabriel," Tarot answered just as his phone announced the arrival of another message, "I... I..."

"Anything you want to tell me?" Adam asked with a frown. Something was going on and that something clearly concerned him. Even if Adam wouldn't be as directly affected as Tarot made it look, whatever it was made Tarot visibly nervous, so it concerned Adam anyway.

"I am not... good at this," Tarot answered evasively, gesturing toward the phone, "I... need to... find out how... to ask... somebody out."

Adam's eyebrows automatically shot up the high heavens at that little confession. Why would Tarot have to know how to ask somebody out? Granted, Tarot was -as far as Adam could figure out- pretty much asexual, but not aromantic, so dating was in the books. Theoretically. Practically though, Adam had no idea who Tarot would even want to date. It wasn't like he knew many people outside of their family. Besides, who was Tarot even talking to? He already said it wasn't Gabriel. Adam prayed -ironically- for it to not be Balthazar.

"Okay, yeah, that's not so easy," Adam finally replied a little lamely, "Depends on a lot of factors really."

Not that Adam was an expert on dating to begin with. He hadn't had too much occasion so to say.

"When... two people are... clearly fond of each other..." Tarot said slowly, as if he was considering every word carefully.

"Terry, we're not having this..." Adam replied automatically, before he could think it through. If Tarot really needed that information, they would have to talk about it. It wasn't like Adam wanted his best friend to ask somebody else for advice in these matters. It was just shaping up to be a very awkward and uncomfortable talk. "Okay, yeah, we're having this talk, just... tell me who you've been talking to."

"Alice," Tarot answered, though his averted gaze and clenched jaw showed that he was visibly reluctant to do so.

"Alice," Adam repeated, dumbstruck, "You... want to... ask Alice for a date?"

To tell the truth, the signs had been there. Tarot was pretty comfortable around Alice after all. Plus, there had been quite frequent text message conversations between them too, now that Adam thought about it. He simply didn't attach much meaning to it before. Well then, Tarot would ask out Alice and Adam would stay home with Snuffles... as long as Snuffles wasn't cuddling with Chuck instead of him. So, Adam felt like sulking, sue him!

"No," Tarot replied with a confused frown, lifting a huge boulder off Adam's shoulders with just one word, "Alice wants..."

Adam looked from Tarot's -yet again pinging- phone to his friend's face and back again a couple of times, before what was most likely happening here dawned on him. Granted, Adam might be a little too hopeful, the fact that Alice was asking for advice by no means meant it was advice concerning him, but the way Tarot was avoiding his eyes and even blushing slightly spoke for itself.

Adam wasn't exactly proud of himself for the move, but he snatched the phone from Tarot's hands to take a look for himself. He would apologize to his friend later, but that moment he simply had to know...

Tarot blinked slowly a couple of times, before he shook his head fondly. Quick moves didn't startle him much when they came from Adam, but having his phone stolen like that had still been a surprise. The thought to lecture Adam on privacy didn't even occur to Tarot. To be honest, being asked for advice he just didn't know how to give had been stressful, so it was a relief to have Adam take over.

Adam took a deep breath before he started to type: _So, I stole Terry's phone. Sue me. How about Saturday at 8? I'll pick you up._

Both Adam and Tarot waited for the next text message anxiously. They didn't have to wait for long, though.

_Woah, never heard of privacy? Expect a scolding! 8:30 and I'll pick you up._


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack, CherylB1964, LadyGrelka, SummerMistedDragon, yet again and Crazy as a Cheshire Cat for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to **Treeni** for **writing** this chapter!

As a short explanation, this chapter belongs to chapter 22 of 46 Days Later. The chapter in which Gabriel was thrown into a sort of End Verse situation to acquire the Philosopher's Stone. Since that whole "future" was more of a "your worst fear come true" scenario made up for Gabriel than any real vision of the future, I'd say this chapter is more of an **AU** of what might have been, if Gabriel had been shown the actual future. It's also from **Tarot**'s perspective... the version of Tarot Gabriel encountered in the possible future, anyway.

I hope that makes sense. My brain is fried right now, so I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't... Finals sucks!

* * *

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock goes the clock.

He had to hurry! He had to hurry now before it was too late! He had to put him back together! He couldn't lose his only friend! He wouldn't lose Adam!

Adam….

Adam….

Adam brought him another clock. Tarot couldn't help, but smile seeing what most people would call junk. He delighted so much in fixing things, it always gave him the feeling of having a little bit of control in his life again, in a life where he had none. When it was all fixed it would be-

Fixed….

Fix…..

He had to fix Adam!

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock goes the clock.

Time was running out!

He had to fix Adam before he lost him again!

Loosing Adam was the worst day of his entire existence. Even when he lived in heaven peacefully, he had never been particularly close with anyone, not the close bond that he shared with the human. It was probably because Adam was human that he understood. Angels just weren't built that way, they weren't supposed to feel, that is until they did. Well that's not true, they had always felt but never expressed such. Angels buried those feelings and became the soldiers they were meant to be. Until they couldn't anymore. His own feelings took over until something vital inside him snapped. Since staying at Bobby's though, he had begun to learn a new way. He was taught how to express and deal with these emotions. He was healing and Adam was the very one doing that mending in him.

Tarot _had, _to fix him! He had to mend Adam too!

Tick tock.

He couldn't do it alone!

Tick tock.

Alone he knew he was breaking again. This time worse than before. The first time they broke him they had taken away his home, his lively hood, his believes and his contentment. They made him use his powers to bend and deny the very laws and progression of nature itself, but it didn't compare. This time… this time what was taken from him was the one thing he cared about more than time….

If only his powers weren't cut off, if there was ever a chance to go back in time….

Time….

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock goes the clock.

"Don't you know what time it is?" Adam asked with an eyebrow raised as he entered the kitchen. Tarot just gave him a half smile and held up the nearly fixed clock proudly. "It's looking good, but don't you ever need to rest?"

Tarot looked away, still slightly uncomfortable with any attention on him, even if it was Adam. "A-angels do occasionally need r-rest when our powers deplete, b-but it takes a lot of exertion t-t-to require it. U-usually… it's unnessar-ry…"

Adam just nodded, taking in the new information. It did explain a lot concerning the fact that he'd never seen any of the angels rest…ever.

"…D-don't you….n-need rest…?" Adam asked, fumbling with some of the tools on the table. Concern was audible in his shaky tone.

Adam just gave him a cheeky grin in return. "I was just grabbing a midnight snack, my sleep schedule's still a little bit off after the last all-nighter my brothers had us pull for research. I'll be okay though."

I'll be okay….

Be okay….

Adam will be okay….

Adam will be okay!

Just fix him!

The pieces!

Put the pieces back together and fix him!

I won't be alone….

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.

Lucifer just scoffed from his position in the crumbling house. The poor little angel that did all that he could to protect the littlest little Winchester brother. The one that no one else cared about. The one whose father left him. The one whose mother died, finally at peace now that she didn't have a little brat to watch after. The one who the angels didn't want. There was a reason Sam and Dean never let him along after all…

Oh, but Luci's poor broken little brother latched on to him like the trashed little toy he was. He even went so far as shielding him when Lucifer tried to hit him with a blast of light. It destroyed the eldest brother and grandpa, but Tarot had been successful in protecting poor little Adam, losing the majority of his powers in the process. Not that it helped him, when Lucifer just snapped and exploded the young man just moments later.

Ever since his poor little brother has been focusing so hard on putting the little creature back together, over and over again. Because he's _lonely._ Pathetic. If he wanted to understand loneliness try being locked alone in a dark cage for millennia. Of course, Lucifer would never _really _let him put the human back together again. Lucifer hid a few pieces out of the seraph's reach.

If he ever did get all the pieces back together, he would put his very existence on the line looking for a way to somehow retrieve his soul, not that it was possible. Lucifer had any relations to the Winchesters on a special lockdown, Dean himself occupying the very cage Lucifer once resided in.

If he ever realized he couldn't put Adam back together, he'd that last little bit of the seraph that keeps trying, would snap. He'd just turn into an empty shell, practically lobotomized. What was the fun in that?

So, finish he would not. Piecing gave the little angel hope.

It was a _mercy_.

Lucifer just snapped his fingers, thousands of little shards dispersing again throughout the lot.

Tarot didn't even flinch.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock goes the clock.

He had to fix Adam!

He had to fix Adam before it was too late!

Tick tock.

Fix Adam!

Tick tock.

Adam!

Tick tock.

ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock goes the clock….


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, SummerMistedDragon, LeeMarieJack, CherylB1964, QuietCrash, Yet again, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

Okay, so we've got moderately big plans for the bachelor party and wedding after this. Now that I have actually graduated I have time to think of the story again too!

**Treeni: **One more 'You're invited' chapter before the actually marriage and the 'letters' chapter will probably come out after. Anyway enjoy! ^^

* * *

Sam quirked an eyebrow, staring down at his lover's suitcase. The sound of the running shower was muffled behind the bathroom door. Gabe had forgotten to bring his towel in with him and refused to use the 'infestation' that was the cheap motel's towel stock. The former archangel could be a little bit of a priss at times honestly. While Gabriel was always willing to pay a little extra -out of his own ridiculously self-compensated pocket thankfully- to upscale their night accommodations, sometimes they just couldn't find nice hotels in the middle of backwash nowhere. So what Sam thought of as okay on the scale of old motels he's stayed at, Gabriel saw as cesspool that he could no longer zap clean at will.

In all honesty, Gabriel had gotten better in the time since first becoming human. No one could blame the guy for preferring his own towel to the starchy ones motels usually supplied. At least he no longer carried around a bottle of white vinegar like a pistol every time they walked into any sort of temporary housing. The first motel they stayed at after his transformation into a human state, Gabriel doused the room so thoroughly with the vinegar solution that Sam had to open all the doors and windows to air the room out. The two ended up sleeping in the car and Dean laughed at their stiffness the next morning.

None of that explained however why when Sam went to retrieve said clean towel from Gabriel's suitcase that at the bottom of the case, he eyed a small bundle of simple white cards at the bottom. Said cards were the wedding invitations that Gabriel had assured Sam he had sent out to the handful of guests they decided to invite.

Towel in one hand, cards in the other Sam headed to the bathroom. Someone had some explaining to do, "Gabriel!"

* * *

When Adam opened the door, just getting home after a long and grueling lecture, he wasn't sure what to think. After all, what did one think when the whole bottom floor of their home had erupted into a massive ball pit?

Multitudinous numbers of rainbow plastic wiffle sized balls spilled out of his front door. Adam labored his way into the mass, practically swimming his way into the living room. He caught sight of Tarot sitting on the steps just over the 'shore-line' that was the rest in the steps before a turn. He was tinkering with a new grandfather clock, the floor around him covered in an impressive layer of confetti and glitter. Said glitter was actually clinging to the angel at random places, giving an odd iridescent effect that simultaneously looked untidy, but at the same time kind of… pretty.

Tarot paid him no mind, tinkering with a grandfather clock that apparently made its new home on the base of their steps given how obnoxiously large and heavy the thing looked. It looked like a relic from the early Victorian age. Maybe he could convince Tarot to teleport it later? Right now there were other things to worry about, like what ate his house and did Chuck survive the attack? Tarot wasn't panicking so chances were things were no one was dying. However the aspiring doctor decided he'd like to find Snuffles just to make sure.

Adam found Chuck first after a trek up the stairs if only to escape the hazard that was the first floor. Unsurprisingly, he found Chuck in his office tapping away at his keyboard as he usually was in the afternoons. Despite the unfortunate origins of Chuck's children's story, it was doing well. Adam was only mildly bothered, mostly conceding to Chuck's method of letting off steam, but it was embarrassing when Alice had visited and found a copy lying around. It hardly took a brilliant mind to figure out the genesis of Mada the dragon.

The quaint office seemed to be one of the few places in the house free from the chaos.

"So Gabriel sends his best," Chuck must have heard Adam's entrance because he spoke without even glancing from the screen. With one hand still typing he held out a card over his shoulder to the younger man.

Adam's eyes glanced over the colorful card stock as a small smirk emerged on the corner of his lips, "Finally huh?"

"Yep, they have a date and everything."

"So does this have anything to do with the burial ground downstairs that was once our house?"

"Samandriel said that the pranks are part of his ritual. You can hardly expect less from a former trickster."

"I suppose not. So is there any other parts to this elaborate prank I should know about?"

Chuck finally paused his typing and leaned back in his chair until he made eye contact with the blond, "There's apparently an empty ball pit set up at the hospital now for the kids, it's obviously up to us to fill it. Snuffles has a new cat tree in the living room, she seems to be enjoying this more than anyone between batting around and hopping on the balls. Last I saw she was asleep in her new quarters."

Adam blinked at the information. He honestly hadn't noticed. He'd been a little more focused on the balls that came above his midsection and the angel who was acting a bit out of character and ignoring his presence. Not that he tried very hard to get his attention however.

"There's also this," Chuck said handing Adam another sheet of paper.

Adam's eyes scanned this second one much easier than the first without the loud colors of the invite card distracting him. This was a surprise. It was a little questionable how his brothers would feel with this new development, "They're making Supernatural into a tv show?"

"A big network actually picked it up. First season premieres in the fall and a publishing company wants to discuss where to go next with the books too."

"So this is Gabe's gift to you huh?"

"Well that and about a dozen packs of new socks," Chuck said with a snort, lifting his pants leg to show mismatched striped and checkered socks, "I bet he thought I wouldn't even wear them."

"You showed him alright," Adam joked lightheartedly, "So what are you gonna tell Sam and Dean?"

"I'm not… or as long as possible at least," Chuck said, a grim expression overtaking his features.

"Good luck hiding from the two guys who specialize in finding what no one else can."

"I know…" Chuck groaned, letting his forehead fall on his desk at the thought.

"Whelp, I have a cat to find," Adam declared and turned towards the door.

"Before you go-" Chuck said, dashing out of his seat to grab lightly on Adam's arm.

Adam just rose a brow curiously at the shorter man and waited for some sort of explanation.

"Well, he left another present for you too… presents actually. They're in your room."

"Okaaaay…" Adam said as Chuck's hand slowly fell from his arm. He had the distinct feeling Chuck wasn't telling him something and turned to investigate his room instead of the kitten's whereabouts.

When Adam found a stack of old and worn books laid out on his desk he wasn't really sure what to think. When he actually read over the letter that was placed unassumingly on top of said stack the smile fell from his face and the young med student almost choked out a sob.

Adam had to hold himself back from throwing open the books to investigate their contents and instead treated them as if they were made of glass, gingerly handling each page as if it would crumble under his touch. There was a scrapbook of his life with his mom, a diary his mother kept in her younger days and a binder of testimonies from some of her longer term patients his mother cared for in her time as a nurse. They were all full of writings about how kind his mom was and how dedicated she was to her job. Some of them even mentioned her stories of him.

None of these could have been easy to get his hands on, but even humanized the former archangel seemed to be a miracle worker when he put his mind to the task. His hand fell on a picture in the album of him and his mom celebrating Christmas together when he was only 7. She was beautiful.

Not even Dean would have teased him in that moment as tears rolled down from his eyes.

* * *

Bobby's eyes were a little red as he stared down with incredulity at the silly little letter in his hands that someone he would have hunted without question just three years before. Jody's arms had wrapped around him without question when she saw his state, moving between rubbing his back comfortingly and brushing off some of the confetti that still clung to his person.

She laughed when he proudly situated the trucker hat with the word "Idjits" written across it, leaving the one that said "Balls" on the table. Beside it were a few new books on lore that the hunter hadn't managed to get his hands on. One on mermaids, another on several odd looking Japanese demons and the last an assortment of fairy tales on some sort of Nordic demon that bangs on roof shingles.

Her own gifts had been touching. A silly assortment of gag gifts, including a karma sutra book and a pair snuggies that had 'beachbody' prints on them. Despite his inherently silly nature, Gabriel had set up something special too. Memorial statues in the town's park for the people who had died the night death set zombies on the town, including her husband and son.

When Jody finally mustered up the will to ask what had upset him, he swallowed before smiling at her and wiped away what tears there were with his shirt sleeve.

"It's nothing. Just something I'd never thought I'd hear," Bobby said simply, stuffing the letter into his pocket. He walked toward the kitchen without another word and grabbed a beer.

And that was that.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, SummerMistedDragon, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, LadyGrelka, Archmage Soulblade, LeeMarieJack, Vampyric Death 1322, yet again and CherylB1964 for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

Dean Winchester always assumed his younger brother was a morning person. Dean wasn't exactly wrong in his assumption, but he wasn't completely right either. As a matter of fact, Sam liked to be up early and get things done, maybe have some time for himself before duty called. Besides, being up fairly early and going through a daily routine, with or without a work out, was one of the normal things that were actually in the cards even for a Winchester.

Then again, ever since Sam could actually sleep -sometimes more, sometimes less- peacefully through the nights, he found that he enjoyed sleeping in and spending lazy mornings in bed quite a bit as well.

It surely helped that Gabriel was quite the cuddler and hardly ever let go of Sam for more than a couple of minutes as they slept. Sometimes having the man he loved pressed up to his side through the night gave Sam quite interesting dreams. Dreams of the variety he was in no hurry to wake up from.

Tonight seemed to be one of those night too.

It was easy enough for people who hardly knew Gabriel to pick up on his oral fixation just from the way he ate his candy. The look on Gabriel's face when he unwrapped a bonbon or lollipop and then put it into his mouth was a dead giveaway. However, none of those people knew of the other form Gabriel's oral fixation could take on. Not that Sam was complaining. Far from it!

Sam himself had gotten used to giving blowjobs a while ago, but it wasn't exactly the act he enjoyed, but knowing that he could make Gabriel feel pretty damn fantastic that way. Gabriel on the other hand, seemed to be completely into all aspects of getting his mouth on Sam. Hell, he probably even liked the part about having his mouth completely occupied best.

To say Sam was enjoying his very graphic dream immensely would be an understatement. Actually, he might enjoy it a little too much...

Sam slowly blinked awake. The first thing he noticed that Gabriel was not lying next to him -an arm and a leg thrown over Sam's body- as he usually did. Actually, there was another thing he realized instantly. It was pretty hard to miss the fact that someone was clearly going down on him. However, it took an embarrassingly long moment until Sam's still sleep addled brain made the connection between those two things.

Apparently, Gabriel noticed that Sam threw the blanket off a little too hurriedly to be completely casual, because he had to interrupt his quest of giving Sam a really good start into the morning to laugh out loud.

"Gabe, what're you doing?" Sam finally managed to ask. The moment the words left his mouth he already knew that he had just asked the stupidest question possible. It was pretty damn obvious what Gabriel was doing. Had done, as a significant part of Sam mournfully insisted.

"What's it look like?" Gabriel retorted waggling his eyebrows. The frown that spread over Gabriel's face wasn't too deep, but it gave away that something only just occurred to him, something he was moderately -but not really- worried about, "Is that the beginning of a complaint?"

"No," Sam answered immediately, maybe even a little too fast. Honestly though, what was he supposed to say when Gabriel's head was still oh so temptingly close to his crotch. The way Gabriel kept running his fingers over Sam's hipbones did nothing to enable him to lead -or even participate in- a rational conversation either.

"Good," Gabriel replied with a grin, before he got ready to dive back in and finish what he started.

"Wait, what I meant was more like... why?" Sam quickly clarified before he could temporarily lose most of his brain's capacity for stringing words together in a way that made sense. Gabriel was scarily good at reducing him to a moaning, babbling mess. Sam was pretty sure he had promptly forgotten the one thing or the other -or maybe a dozen things- he actually wanted to bring up over some of the mind blowing sexual escapades Gabriel initiated over the years. However, it was hard to complain about any of that when, a) Sam actually completely forgot about what he had meant to say and, b) everyone was left pretty damn satisfied anyway.

"Because," Gabriel shrugged casually. Granted, he had never before woken Sam up in the middle of things rather than before things got started, but all things considered this couldn't be called out of character for him. Gabriel cocked an eyebrow in response to Sam's eye-roll, "Really? After all this time you still think I need a reason to want to eat you right up?"

Of course, if Gabriel put it that way Sam felt quite silly for asking. It wasn't like they didn't have quite the active sex life and it hadn't been an unwelcome surprise by any means. Just a surprise. A surprising surprise that left Sam surprised in a positive way. Actually, a quite big part of Sam was insisting to stop thinking and talking so much already and just let Gabriel get back to doing that thing with his tongue... Unfortunately, it was Gabriel who decided that the time for talking wasn't quite over.

"You know how much I love to eat corn dogs," Gabriel commented, his eyes sparkling with mirth because of his own stupid joke. When Sam groaned exasperatedly Gabriel decided to keep talking, "Suck your lollipop? Swallow the banana?"

"Shut up," Sam finally commanded, trying and failing to glare at his T-minus-one-day-fiancé. In all honesty, Sam had gotten used to Gabriel's corny euphemisms and jokes a long time ago and found them quiet funny. There still were other -better- things to do, though.

"Your wish, my command," Gabriel gave a mock salute, before he finally lowered his mouth back to the place where Sam quite desperately wanted it again.

* * *

Sam was quite content to go back to dozing a bit, Gabriel lying by his side an arm and a leg thrown over Sam's body as things should be this time. The preparations for their wedding the next day were all done with, so they didn't have anywhere to be until much later. Sam sighed contently and leaned back into the fluffy hotel pillows. It really paid to have a room in the hotel where they would also hold their wedding reception. They had a lazy day ahead of them, then a fun night with their family and friends and finally the wedding. Life was good.

"Think you'll be able to think of anyone other than me when Dean takes you to the strip club?" Gabriel suddenly asked. The smirk on Gabriel's face was all too easy to be heard in his voice, so Sam knew it was there even before he opened his eyes again. Gabriel waited for a moment, but when Sam didn't immediately reply he added, "'Cause if the answer is 'yes', I'd have to get back down there and take care of the standing ovations."

Gabriel waggled his eyebrows and nodded toward the foot -or rather the middle- of the bed. Granted, Gabriel could do with a little more sleep, but if forced to decide between sleep and sex he knew which one he would choose basically every time.

"What?" Sam blinked slowly a couple of times.

"I thought my initial question was simple enough," Gabriel replied with a chuckle, before he waggled his eyebrows and added, "Didn't take into account that I just blew your mind though."

"No, I... what?" Sam started to clarify, but quickly found himself at a loss for words again, "Dean's planning to take us to a strip club?"

Of course, Dean insisted that it was his duty as best man to organize the stag night, but he had to know that Sam didn't want an out of control night with strip clubs and the like. Dean was still and likely always would be the person who knew Sam the best. He just had to know...

"Duh," Gabriel commented with a snort, before he added in a -somewhat mocking- reconciliatory tone, "Muffin, I love your belief in the good of people despite all the evidence against it, even if it borders on naiveté at times, but you're not _this_ naive."

"Adam's still twenty," Sam argued uselessly and half-heartedly. The fact that Adam was technically too young to go to any bars or strip clubs didn't mean jack shit and Sam knew it. Besides, Adam also had been dead for years of his life, so his age was a complicated thing to begin with. Sam knew for a fact that Adam's current ID had him listed as a twenty year old. Not that whatever ID Adam usually used meant anything for tonight.

"Really cute," Gabriel laughed, "Never lose that kind of faith Sam, it's very endearing."

"Ha ha," Sam retorted in an unamused tone, but he couldn't bring himself to give Gabriel a really stern look -read: bitch face- all the same. There was one thing that needed saying though, "I didn't buy it for a second when Balthazar said he'd keep things harmless and safe for your stag night."

"Buying that wouldn't have been naive, but plain stupid," Gabriel shot back, before he smirked and added, "Especially since I gave him a list to work with."

Gabriel had to admit that Balthazar was right when he said that the groom didn't organize his own bachelor party, but that didn't mean Gabriel had to give in when it came to him having a say in what would be done. After all Gabriel had a quite specific vision for the night that left some space here and there for Balthazar to bring his own ideas to the table. All in all, it looked like quite the promising night was ahead of them.

"Sounds like I should be the one to make sure you think of nobody else tonight," Sam huffed out a chuckle. He was sure that Gabriel knew he was just kidding, just like Sam had known Gabriel was only joking. They had to prove their love for each other often enough to know without a doubt that what they had was rock solid. Even if Sam was sure that there were strippers -at the very least, or even hookers knowing Balthazar- in Gabriel's imminent future, he was just as sure that Gabriel would enjoy looking and then come back to proclaim that the show would have been much better if Sam had done the stripping.

"Oh, please do!" Gabriel replied with so much fervor it made both of them look at each other dumbly for a moment, before they started to laugh.

* * *

All their wedding guests had gathered in the hotel lobby on Gabriel's request. It was about time they left for their respective stag nights and since their family and friends were very much intertwined at this point hardly anyone could be sure which party they would actually go to. It was pretty much a given that Michael and Lucifer would go with Gabriel, but most of the others could have been with either Sam or Gabriel.

"Alright, all ladies and all angels other than Cas to my side," Gabriel ordered with a grin, before he threw a side glance toward Adam and added, "All complaints about teary-eyed separations go to Dean-o, for insisting we can't have our stag nights together."

Adam did his best to fight the face he wanted to pull. It had been brought to his attention very recently that his unamused expression looked very similar to Sam's bitch faces -by Alice nonetheless- and he really didn't want anyone else to notice the likeness just that moment. Still, Gabriel's announcement meant that both Alice and Tarot would go with Gabriel while Adam would -predictably- go with his brothers. At least Tarot looked happy enough to follow Alice after she put a reassuring hand on his back. It also was a little consoling that Chuck was still standing next to Adam, though he looked a little unsure. Apparently, nobody was of the opinion that rarely being God qualified Chuck to be on the angel side though, so the two groups slowly, but surely went their separate ways.

Gabriel threw a look over his shoulder to make sure Adam was not looking at them anymore, before he took a card from his pocket and handed it to Alice. "You're gonna need this."

Alice frowned for a moment, before a wide grin lit up her face. She had always wanted to have a fake ID.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack, SummerMistedDragon, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LadyGrelka and yet again for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"Don't look at me like that. It's not a brothel," Dean huffed, addressing the whole group even though he was looking only at Castiel. Most of the others were looking a little too surprised and disapproving as well. Hell, this was Sam's stag night, what did they expect? They weren't going to play Bingo at the local old people's home! However, it sure looked like something like a stupid Bingo night would have gotten a more positive reaction. Did anybody know how to have some good old fashioned fun anymore?

"I will never understand your fascination with dens of iniquity, Dean," Castiel replied with a thoughtful frown. Brothel or not, a strip club full of scantily clad women still felt like an inappropriate place for an angel to be, even if Balthazar might disagree heartily.

Besides, Castiel's research suggested that the groom was supposed to enjoy his stag night. It didn't look like Sam wanted to be at this place any more than Castiel did. Adam definitely looked uncomfortable as well, but there were no rules indicating that the groom's brother had to approve of the activities for the bachelor party; not that Castiel knew of anyway.

"Seriously, never? Not even a little?" Dean asked, clearly disbelieving and nearly a little disappointed. This might be one of the things Dean really liked that he might not be able to sell to Castiel. It was a pity really. Though looking at everyone else, Castiel was hardly the only one not sold on the idea of spending a fun night at the place, "Tough crowd."

* * *

Gabriel had to give it to Balthazar, renting the side room of the all male strip club so they would have it to themselves, had been a brilliant idea. It sure would help with finding a place for Tarot where he could just watch the proceedings without being in danger of anyone or anything triggering him, hopefully. Besides, they were a bit of a mixed and weird group, but as long as they stayed among themselves that was hardly a problem.

"Ladies, brothers," Gabriel announced in an all too solemn voice given their current surroundings, "I have dollars!"

The declaration earned Gabriel a generally very enthusiastic response from the women present and even a wolf whistle coming from Hope. The angels looked a less sure, but hardly unsettled enough to pose a problem. They might just need a bit of time to warm up to the idea. Actually, the announcement Balthazar had to make might help with that.

"Open bar," Balthazar stated, smirking before he added, "Try to keep it classy and do nothing I wouldn't do."

The owner of the club had been paid enough for three parties just to make sure everyone would have a really enjoyable night. Looking at the crowd Balthazar had planned this for, it was highly unlikely that paying everyone off for possible damages and inconveniences had been necessary, but money wasn't an issue and it couldn't hurt to be prepared. Besides, throwing a lot of money at the club owner and the selected strippers sure had made them very enthusiastic for the evening.

"Balthazar, those two things sound like they should be mutually exclusive," Gabriel commented with a grin, patting his brother's back amiably, "But I've got to say, you make it work."

Most of Gabriel's dollars had changed owners in the meantime. Luckily he still had a fair sized stack in his back pocket. Of course Gabriel wanted everyone else to have fun, but he intended to enjoy himself as well. He would be a happily married man come tomorrow after all. Not that it would change anything much really. Him and Sam were just making something that was already firmly established official.

"I'd have thought you would be more... disapproving of... all this," Lucifer commented as he nudged Michael with his elbow. Truth be told, Lucifer didn't get the appeal of a strip club. It had nothing to do with it being an all male strippers strip club either. Lucifer highly doubted he would have liked the female version any more. After all most humans were still completely unappealing -not to say disgusting- to Lucifer. However, as soon as he got to know them better there was an amazing amount of people Lucifer found he could stand to be around. Everyone he didn't know however, could still be summed up as worthless cockroaches.

"I'll let you know that I can appreciate the male form from an aesthetic standpoint," Michael retorted, rolling his eyes at his brother's antics. Lucifer didn't have to know that not too long ago the amount of shear nudity would have fazed Michael quite a bit, but those times were in the past.

"So can your wife, Mikey, so can your wife," Lucifer smirked, nodding toward the stage where Hope was putting dollars into a stripper's tanga enthusiastically. Of course, Nadine, Jody and Alice were putting Gabriel's dollars to good use as well, but there was no use directing Michael's attention to that. Not that Lucifer would have gotten a chance to, since Michael was already on the way to Hope. At least that left Lucifer free to laugh long and out loud.

* * *

"Cas, think of it like a business transaction, if that helps," Dean suggested exasperatedly. It had been surprisingly hard to even get Castiel to take the dollars Dean was offering him -probably because of the first, pretty bad experience Castiel made with 'dens of iniquity', but this time Dean wasn't asking him to go anywhere. He was just supposed to give the strippers money the way God intended -so to say- but now the angel was stubbornly refusing to get anywhere near the stage.

"I understand the mechanics of exchanging money for goods and/or services," Castiel pointed out, sounding exasperated with Dean's antics himself, "However, there is nothing I wish to purchase here. Maybe somebody else would appreciate it more."

Castiel turned to offer the money to someone else, but Sam only smiled at him awkwardly while Adam grumbled something unintelligible and crossed his arms in front of his chest. It wasn't that Sam had never been to strip clubs before -usually alongside Dean, when his brother was struck by a mood- and he could have humored Dean and helped Castiel by just taking the money and putting it to good use, but that seemed like a slippery slope that went straight to whatever his brother thought was a "good idea" next. The moment Sam showed any enjoyment he was sure Dean would really start thinking of all the things he could get Sam to do.

"You know, this reminds me of that one case I worked at a strip joint," Garth quickly started to chatter, completely focusing his attention on Chuck the moment Castiel tried to offer him the money, "Of course, I went there outside of business hours, so it was less..."

Garth gestured around a little helplessly. Overwhelming was probably the right word to describe his current feelings, but it was a little hard to come up with the right descriptions while his senses were assailed from all sides. Maybe after Garth had time to get used to the surroundings he would start to enjoy it. He wouldn't bash it before he tried it, but there was nothing wrong with testing the waters first instead of diving in head first.

"There... uh... was this building around my old home I used to pass by when I went shopping... I think it might've been a strip club," Chuck replied with a shrug, pointedly evading Castiel's stare. Chuck was no prude and definitely was no blushing virgin -Becky could attest to that, if anyone had invited her to the wedding that was. To her credit, Becky assumed she wouldn't be invited and took it pretty well even before he invitations were sent out- but he was more of an internet, TV, or phone man when it came to services like this. This was outside of private moments just between him and his girlfriend of course.

"Idjits," Bobby commented, shaking his head as he took the dollars from Castiel's outstretched hand. Bobby for one wouldn't look a gift horse into the mouth. At least not in this case.

* * *

"You good?" Alice asked as she took a seat next to Tarot. The table the angel had chosen was unsurprisingly close to a corner with nobody coming too close to it. Alice had watched him for a while in the start, ready to tell anyone who tried to get too close to Tarot and push him into participating in the fun to just leave him alone. It seemed like somebody else had already clued the strippers/waiters in though and Alice had to admit she had forgotten to check on Tarot for a little while. In her defense, she had never been anywhere near a strip club before. That combined with her first alcoholic cocktail and the fact that Hope, Nadine and Jody had immediately taken her under their wings made for a time period of great distraction.

Tarot smiled slightly and nodded. Watching everyone else have fun was good, enjoyable even. It probably wouldn't be easy to understand for most people, but Tarot was used to just watching others do things rather than getting into the action himself. His fingers twitched slightly with the urge to do something productive though, but that was a minor annoyance.

"Bored?" Alice asked with a sympathetic smile.

"A little," Tarot admitted with a slight frown. He wouldn't have attached that word to his current feelings, but now that Alice brought it up, it simply seemed to fit. Watching was good and nice, but there were things that were more interesting to watch than others and there was nothing really interesting in this place.

"I figured as much," Alice replied, nodding to herself before she started to rummage around in her handbag and pulled out a couple of cheap and malfunctioning watches she had taken with her just for an occasion like this.

"Thank you," Tarot beamed -for his standards anyway- as he gave Alice one of the barely-there hugs he discovered he felt comfortable sharing with a very select circle of people.

"Smile for the camera," Alice said a moment later, as she got ready to take a selfie of the two of them and send it to Adam. That way Adam would at least know that they were okay and having fun. In the very least, the glitter on Alice's cheeks and in her short, red hair would keep Adam guessing for a while.

* * *

"How's it that Bobby's the only one who's enjoying himself? That's just not right," Dean snorted. To be fair, it looked like Garth and Chuck were having a little fun chatting to each other and now and then daring a glance toward the strippers, but everyone else was just a real killjoy. Not that that couldn't be changed. "Maybe it's time I bought some lap dances."

Sam nearly choked on his sip of beer at that announcement. This was exactly the kind of thing he had tried to avoid. Maybe if he kept silent Dean would kind of forget he was there... There hadn't been that much of a chance that Sam was going to really enjoy his stag night in the first place, but this far it had been... okay. He really didn't fancy the thought of being in the center of attention and/or get a lap dance from some stripper. Luckily Adam was doing a great job of distracting Dean from focusing on Sam too much.

"Yeah, that's really gonna help," Adam snarked, putting his phone back into his pocket. At least Alice and Tarot seemed to have fun. The genuine smile on Tarot's face and the glitter all over Alice sure spoke for that. Adam would have to ask about that later.

"It sure might help your sourpuss attitude some, twerp," Dean retorted, a small devilish smirk spreading over his face. In all honesty, Dean planned to go and bribe some stripper into pulling Sam on stage, he was the soon-to-be-wed one after all, but that could wait until Dean made sure Adam learned to appreciate the access to new adventures his fake ID granted him.

"I'll say it nicely just this once, jerk," Adam replied in a dangerously low tone, "Don't you dare!"

Dean raised his arms defensively and walked off toward the bar. Adam didn't believe the issue was over and done with that easily, but he would take what he could get for the moment. While Adam was nowhere near as averse to being touched as Tarot, he still didn't like getting into too close contact with strangers. Especially not if those strangers weren't fully clothed and were paid to get that close to him.

"I think that was a mistake, buddy," Garth commented with a light shrug. while biting his lower lip. The face he pulled almost made him look as if he had just tasted something very bitter, though the hard alcohol Dean pushed on all of them might also attribute to that.

Garth would be proven right just a couple of minutes later when two strippers made a beeline for Adam and tried to pull him toward the stage with them.

Adam struggled weakly. It wasn't the women's fault that he was pushed into the situation. Not really, anyway. Hurting either one of them was definitely not in the books, not even accidentally. The closer they got to the stage, the higher Adam's panic levels -call it stage fright- rose until he just yelled at the top of his lungs, "I got in here with a fake ID and he gave it to me!"

* * *

"I'd have thought angels would be more... reluctant about this kind of entertainment," Jody commented, as she waited for her cocktail by the bar. She hadn't had the chance to talk to Joshua before, but the angel seemed nice and remarkably tranquil. He had a bowl of fruit in front of him, after the barkeeper relented and just let him have the fruit instead of making Joshua order cocktails just for the garnish.

"Everyone was naked back in the Garden of Eden, Sheriff Mills," Joshua replied with a sly smile. Besides, just like most of his brothers and sisters Joshua could appreciate the aesthetics of the human body, male or female. The music was a little loud and the base too heavy, but all in all the evening was as enjoyable as an evening away from the garden could be.

"Huh, I never thought of it like that," Jody frowned slightly, before she offered her hand to the angel and said, "Jody."

After all, the angels only had a first name each it seemed, so they really should be on a first name basis with each other. Joshua smiled and shook Jody's hand. To be honest, Joshua hadn't been completely sold on God's great plan of bringing everyone, humans and angels, together like this, but it really seemed like they were growing ever closer to the benefit of everyone.

"Look at our little Otheos go," Hope laughed, nudging Michael with her elbow and nodding toward Otheos who was in the process of putting a dollar into a stripper's tanga. Hope sniffled exaggeratedly and wiped the non-existent tears from her eyes before she added, "They grow up so fast."

"I'm tempted to call this character development," Michael agreed with a small grin. Of course, both of them had spoken none too quietly, to make sure Otheos heard every word.

"You two are so lucky I have learned to appreciate you as friends," Otheos huffed once he was done participating in the human ritual he had been invited to and went back to Michael and Hope. A smile quickly and involuntarily spread over Otheos' face when both his friends took his words as a prompt to hug him simultaneously. Michael could blame the unusual amount of affectionate on the light buzz caused by the cocktails Hope insisted he had to try earlier, but that made the sentiment no less true.

"I've got to say these establishments have gotten nicer since I've last..." Nadine shrugged as she went back to the table where Lucifer was waiting with their drinks. It sure was hot in here -in more ways than one- so she had to take a break to drink something. The fact that Samandriel was babysitting Gracie helped Nadine unwind immensely. Nadine didn't have to be there to know for a fact that Gracie was protected, taken care of and was having a blast, so Nadine figured she could do the same.

"Nadine," Lucifer replied, honestly surprised, "I'm learning new things about you every day."

"Don't act so shocked," Nadine retorted, swatting Lucifer's shoulder playfully, "I'm sharing bed and table with the devil, after all."

* * *

"Well done, twerp," Dean groaned. Unsurprisingly they were asked to leave the club after Adam made his little impromptu confession. It wasn't that Dean was disappointed so much as that Sam's stag night had been completely ruined. Alright, maybe Dean was a little disappointed that his entire plan for the evening turned out as badly as it did. Who could have known that all the prudes were on Sam's side though? At least it seemed unlikely that the angel side was having a better night.

"Can't say I didn't warn you," Adam retorted defensively. At least Garth and Chuck seemed to agree with Adam's point. Both of them were nodding. Chuck in particularly looked especially pleased to get out of the strip club. It probably occurred to the prophet that Becky would give him hell the moment she heard of this and to say that they only stayed a little more than an hour might appease her a bit.

"Hey Adam, thanks for that," Sam whispered the moment Dean turned his back to them.

"I know, I know..." Adam sighed. Of course, this was Sam's evening and even though Sam hadn't looked like he wanted to be at the strip club much more than Adam did, he probably hadn't wanted a big scene and getting thrown out as the climax of the evening either.

"No, I mean it... thanks," Sam added with a genuine smile, patting his younger brother's back. The evening could have ended much, much worse, if anyone asked Sam for his opinion. Not that the evening was over as they were about to find out.

"Everybody follow me," Bobby announced, marching off toward the location he had looked up earlier, just in case. It never hurt to prepare a plan B when it came to dealing with the Winchesters, "Night's still young."


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, QuietCrash, SummerMistedDragon, yet again, CherylB1964, LeeMarieJack, LadyGrelka and Barranca for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"Seriously? _This_ is your great plan B?" Dean commented with a snort, "Is this your way of killing the evening dead for good?"

Bobby only huffed and raised his arm to signal for the waitress to get them a pitcher of beer to start with. Dean could be as skeptical as he wanted, but Bobby was confident that his plan would work out perfectly. At least, it would once they all reached a certain level of tipsiness. Hell, Garth already looked like he had hit the jackpot even without the drinks.

"I am not sure I understand what makes this place different from the last," Castiel frowned deeply as he took in their surroundings. The establishment they had switched to was smaller than the other one and looked more like one of the regular bars Castiel and Dean went to regularly, but there was a stage that made the angel fear the worst, "Will there be any nudity happening on stage again?"

Sam, Dean, Adam, Bobby, Garth and Chuck all looked at Castiel without making a sound for a moment, before they broke into collective laughter. The fact that the waitress chose exactly that moment to bring their order and gave them all a mildly shocked look made everything even funnier. To be fair, it looked like the waitress wouldn't mind the prospect of about half -or more- of their group getting into a state of undress after she thought it through for a moment.

"I'll go and get the song register!" Garth offered just a second later, before he approached the stage with suspiciously bouncy steps and grabbed one of the booklets laid out there. It would be easier to explain the proceedings to Castiel when equipped with their choice of songs and since the angel clearly didn't know what exactly a karaoke bar was, Garth also had hopes of talking Castiel into a duet to get the evening started.

* * *

"I'm sorry, that never happened to me before," Gabriel apologized a little too strongly, which he could realistically blame on having one or two -or half a dozen- drinks too many. He was seriously sorry for alienating the poor guy who was only doing his job by giving Gabriel a lap dance. However, no matter how hard he tried, Gabriel couldn't stop the tears from gathering in his eyes.

"It's just..." Gabriel tried to explain even as the first tear finally rolled over his cheek, "Two years ago, I'd have been all over you, 'cause... damn... but..."

To his credit, the stripper had kept with the program this far, even though he noticed things were getting off track a while ago, but as soon as Gabriel started to talk the stripper basically just crouched there -his hands still on Gabriel's knees- and listened.

"I'm getting married tomorrow and Sam..." Gabriel sniffled, wiping at his eyes to little effect, "Dammit, Sam wouldn't even mind any of this, 'cause he knows how much I love him and he trusts me. Completely. You know how precious that is?"

Apparently, the young man knew -or could imagine. how precious having someone's complete trust was, because he got a little teary eyed after hearing Gabriel's heartfelt speech.

"And he loves me so much," Gabriel added, feeling encouraged by the stripper's reaction, even though he was pretty much crying at this point, "Every time I mess up and I think... this is it... too much... he'll show me the door... and yet he always forgives me and still loves me just as much."

Balthazar had the good grace to generously tip the still somewhat baffled -and quite obviously moved- stripper. Only Gabriel would get a professional stripper to get misty eyed by gushing about how wonderful Sam Winchester was. Actually, Balthazar should have realized that Gabriel was an emotional drunk and prevented him from ever getting more than a little tipsy.

Apparently, Gabriel wasn't the only one in the family who tended to get mushy once alcohol got involved either.

Michael would blame his sudden urge to cuddle Gabriel on his uncharacteristically high alcohol consumption that evening and if anyone dared to ask him about it later, nobody had to know that Lucifer had in fact disposed of his drinks rather than consuming them. That way the pictures of their little impromptu cuddle pile, that were no doubt being taken that very moment, could always be explained away with impaired judgment later.

* * *

Adam nearly choked on his coke when he opened the message Alice sent him. At the first glance, it looked like Michael and Lucifer were trying to choke Gabriel, but upon further inspection that was clearly not what was going on. Adam huffed out a chuckle, before he quickly snapped a picture of Garth who was in the middle of singing a duet with a sock puppet he apparently had with him the entire evening for some reason. Granted, a cuddle pile consisting of seventy-five percent of all former archangels was a sight to behold, but Adam was confident his picture would score higher on the weirdness scale.

For a moment Adam considered taking a video of Garth's very unique rendition of Cat Steven's 'Father and Son', but it probably would be too dangerous to put a hunter on YouTube. At least Adam doubted that in their business having your face show up on social media was a good thing, especially with the danger of the video going viral. Aside from that, Adam wouldn't be amused if anyone did it to him, so he wouldn't do it to anyone else either.

"C'mon, Sammy, it's your party!" Dean insisted, catching Adam's attention with his loud statement as well.

Adam grinned and nudged Sam with his elbow before he stated, "Yeah, _Sammy_, it's your party!"

Teasing Sam a bit was another thing Adam and Dean could generally agree on. Adam's idea of what went too far was different than Dean's, but as long as things stayed within certain limits they were both fine with bugging Sam. Besides, Adam still had to pay Sam back for appointing him ring bearer for the ceremony and leaving Adam wide open to lots of flower girl jokes from Dean.

Sam emptied his glass of beer and put it back on the tablet with a noticeable bang. Blame Bobby making sure the alcohol kept flowing, but that moment Sam felt courageous and in the mood for some fun that would make Gabriel proud of him too.

"Know what? You're right!" Sam announced, rising to his full height with just some minor troubles caused by a sudden mild earthquake, or his moderate tipsiness, whichever. "This is my party and we're in a karaoke bar, so what the hell? Let's do this!"

Castiel frowned slightly at Dean and Adam's reaction. The two Winchesters were getting what they wanted, but they both looked disbelieving and baffled for some reason. Sometimes Castiel suspected that humanity as a whole wasn't even that complicated, but Winchesters were. It would be interesting to see where this was going, after all Castiel thought karaoke looked like an enjoyable pastime. Garth sure gave off that impression. Castiel would have to see if there were any songs on the list that he had heard before. Anything from Dean's favorite playlist would do.

"And you're coming with me!" Sam added after a moment of silence, grabbing his two brothers' shoulders, not giving them any chance to get out of his grip.

Bobby leaned back in his chair and patted himself on the back for a job well done. A moment later something interesting caught the old hunter's eye and even if he could have resisted, he saw no reason to. Bobby reached for the phone Adam had no chance to take with him when Sam dragged him and Dean away and quickly found what he was looking for.

* * *

Alice was gasping for breath and even Tarot's shoulders were shaking slightly from laughing. It was doubtful that anyone other than Alice could hear the angel's quiet laughter, but it was definitely there. Adam should be pleased to hear about that, even though he would likely not be pleased to hear what caused all the laughing to begin with.

Alice made a mental note to write Bobby a nice thank you card for the video of the three brothers singing 'we are the champions'. The old hunter deserved it without a doubt. First she typed out a message to Adam saying that he had won and she really didn't know how to top that though.

Then again, the evening they were having had taken a turn from the strangeness expected from a stag night to weirdness of an entirely different caliber as well.

Joshua was in the middle of a heated discussion about the best fertilizer with the barkeeper. Apparently, the man had only just started planting trees and bushes on his property and had not yet found a way to get them to grow properly. Between the two of them they were planning a whole new structure for the garden with the help of a cocktail napkin and a pen.

Jody found out that one of the strippers actually planned to join the police force and was giving the young man pointers. When Jody started to share some of the more curious stories of her career a couple others, including Otheos, joined them at the table.

All in all, it looked like they were having a nice evening out at a bar where some of the patrons just happened to only wear tangas.

"This is the weirdest evening I've spent at a strip club, hands down," Hope commented, shaking her head. At Michael's raised eyebrow, Hope only swatted her husband's upper arm and stated, "Don't act so surprised!"

Michael didn't get to defend himself before Hope suddenly dragged him across the room and toward the DJ. A short conversation and a couple of dollars later the music changed from something actually fit for a strip club to soft pop. It wasn't like anyone was stripping anymore anyway, so Hope figured she could seize the chance to get her husband to dance with her instead.

"I have a dollar," Nadine proclaimed, before she stuffed said dollar into the collar of Lucifer's shirt.

"Those were meant to pay someone to undress," Lucifer replied with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I'm pretty sure that was a dance-with-me-dollar," Nadine retorted, giving Lucifer a challenging look. After everything that already went down that evening a little dance shouldn't be asking for too much. It wasn't like Michael would be able to make fun of Lucifer for it, since he –or his wife depending on how you looked at it- was the one who started it and Gabriel was still singing the hymn of Sam Winchester's perfection was to Alice and Tarot this time. At least that was what Gabriel had been doing until a moment ago, but now he was staring at the screen of Alice's phone completely spellbound. Either way, nobody was in a position to laugh at Lucifer... and if Lucifer was drunk enough to hug his brothers in public, he sure was drunk enough for dancing.

"That sounds acceptable," Lucifer agreed after a moment of consideration, before he offered his arm to Nadine.

It definitely was a strange evening all around, but it was just their brand of strange.

* * *

Taking a page out of Sam's book, Castiel unceremoniously grabbed Chuck and dragged the prophet to the stage with him. Castiel thought logically that any song he knew well enough to want to perform was a song Chuck had to know for sure. After all, Chuck had spent much more time on Earth than Castiel did, being human -most of the time- and all.

Besides, the tune to Mike Post's 'believe it or not' was simple enough, which was the reason Castiel chose it over any of the songs Dean loved to play in the Impala. Besides, the song came from a TV show Castiel had grown quite fond of after Dean introduced him to it, so it gave the angel a good feeling.

"Cas... Castiel... it's not like everyone has to..." Chuck stammered, but chose to stop protesting when Castiel shot him a stern look. Apparently, Castiel had made up his mind about this and he wanted Chuck to keep him company. There was no time to talk the angel out of it anyway, because a moment later someone handed a microphone to the slightly panicking Chuck.

As it turned out, Castiel was quite the stage hog, especially after Dean started to cheer for them. It suited Chuck just right though. That way the prophet got away with only throwing a word in here and there and then quickly fleeing the stage when the song was done. Chuck really needed more beer to deal with all this and Adam better not lose a word about it! It helped Chuck's bruised ego a little that everyone gave him a pat on the shoulder and Garth had even insisted that his contribution had made the song better.

Chuck shook his head, vowing to himself never to do something like that again when he noticed Castiel and Dean flipping through the song register. Apparently, Dean had reached just the right level of drunkenness and the reactions a couple of women gave him for his last time on stage did the rest.

Dean and Castiel had yet to choose a song when the first few chords of 'Highway to hell' brought their attention back to the stage.

"Who the hell invited him?" Dean groaned, after booing at Crowley purely as a matter of principle.

Sam shrugged, but couldn't get himself to care about the king of hell crashing his bachelor party. Somehow the bastard was a part of their ragtag group of family, friends and acquaintances... like that weird not-uncle that nobody ever talked about… and he wasn't a half bad singer, so whatever.

* * *

"Did ya have a good ev'ning, Muffin?" Gabriel asked, heavily slurring his words as he plopped down on their bed face first. It took a couple of moments until Gabriel managed to roll over in the right direction -his first try had him nearly falling to the floor- and throw an arm and a leg over Sam's body.

"Mhm," Sam hummed and wrapped his arm around Gabriel tightly while petting his fiancé's hair with the other.

"Love ya, so... so much!" Gabriel declared dramatically, as he snuggled more against Sam's side.

"You too Gabe. Forever and always," Sam replied, before he exhaled soundly and leaned back into the fluffy pillows.

"Keep s'me of that for t'morrow," Gabriel mumbled, but a quick look revealed that Sam was already asleep. Gabriel shrugged and put his head on Sam's chest. Sleep sounded good right then.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, SummerMistedDragon, ZoosmellPooplord, CherylB1964, LeeMarieJack, yet again and Lady Grelka for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"No," Sam replied in a no nonsense tone that would have worked with a lot of people. Of course, most of the people it never worked with were incidentally members of Sam's family. One of them being his newlywed husband. Sam didn't even have to wait for Gabriel to talk to know that the last words in the matter hadn't yet been spoken.

"That's not what you said an hour ago!" Gabriel pointed out with a smug grin and an eyebrow waggle that was purely for effect.

"I said yes to marrying you, not to dancing," Sam deadpanned. Of course, there was music at their reception and the room was more than big enough to leave space to dance, but that they technically could didn't mean they had to.

"It's a package deal. Just read the contract," Gabriel shot back in a clearly fake serious tone.

"We didn't make a contract," Sam stated with a frown. He wasn't quite sure where Gabriel was going with this line of argumentation, but Sam was sure he would find out soon enough.

"If we had, it would've been part of it," Gabriel reasoned, quite obviously all too satisfied with himself. Sam could hardly argue with that logic. In fact, Sam should just be glad that Gabriel didn't bring up all the other things they would have had to negotiate about, if there had been a contract. Of course, Gabriel wouldn't dream of seriously wanting a marriage contract that -more or less- forced Sam into complying with his conjugal obligations day and/or night. However, he might have brought up a stipulation like that, so he could give in and let Sam negotiate him down to just that wedding dance.

"Gabriel," Sam groaned. He could already feel that he wouldn't get out of this discussion without dancing at least once. Maybe Sam didn't even mind that thought too much and Gabriel knew it for sure, which was why Sam never stood a chance in the first place.

"Just one dance," Gabriel lowered his tone, fixed Sam's green eyes with his golden ones and leaned in for a kiss before he added, "Please."

"Okay, just that one," Sam sighed and let Gabriel drag him to Balthazar, who had appointed himself as DJ for the afternoon. Balthazar's logic that involving as few outsiders as possible meant that everyone had to watch what they said and did less was sound. In fact, it had been very nice and thoughtful, coming from Balthazar.

"You go, Sammy!" Dean called after his brother and brother-in-law. Dean followed their discussion in silence, but now that he knew which one of them lost -unsurprisingly- he had to comment.

Just a moment later, Dean directed his full attention back to the sweets buffet again. He was willing to give both Sam and Gabriel the benefit of the doubt and assume they had chosen the mini pies in various flavors together. Dean felt pleased enough with this development that he decided to not give the newlyweds hell for at least a week; which they would spend on their honeymoon anyway. Dean had never said it would be a huge sacrifice on his part, but a technical sacrifice none the less.

"Hey Mister, I want some of those too!" Gracie pouted and pointed at Dean's already more than full plate of mini pies. Granted, there still were quite a few on the table, but Dean was clearly showing possessive behavior over the pies and Gracie would not be satisfied with anything less than trying every single dessert on the table.

"Pretty sure this is the Dean section of the table," Dean shot back, raising his eyebrow at the kid challengingly. Gracie had spunk, Dean had to give her that. Hell, she could probably use all the attitude her little body could somehow hold to deal with Lucifer. Actually, Dean was willing to let Gracie have a few of the pies just for the fact that her -and her mother- dealing with Lucifer meant the Winchesters didn't have to.

"Pretty sure my _uncle_ Gabriel wants me to have some too!" Gracie pointed out, meeting Dean's eyes stubbornly. As expected the hunter blinked and shook his head the moment the word 'uncle' and what it entailed fully registered with him. Gracie gave Dean a big grin and quickly put one of each pie flavor on her plate. Lucifer had given her very valuable advice when he said that simply pointing out that they were all one big family now should be a quick way to shut just about everyone present up.

"What a little brat!" Dean huffed out a chuckle after Gracie had taken her plundered loot back to seat, "But she's good, gotta give her that."

"My brother just married your brother," Castiel stated in a completely matter-of-fact tone, "Her statement was factually lacking. Yet not completely wrong."

Dean and Lucifer were brothers-in-law, given Sam and Gabriel's newlywed status. Genetics would most likely not back the claim up, still not even Dean could seriously dispute the fact that Lucifer had just become a part of his family. Of course, Lucifer and Nadine were not married and even if they were, Gabriel would not be Gracie's uncle as much as her adopted uncle. Not that the child was very likely to make that distinction, since she apparently already considered Gabriel her uncle. It was then that a daunting realization surfaced to the forefront of his mind: Balthazar was also his brother-in-law now. He turned his attention back to Cas to distract himself away from that particular thought process.

"I know, I know, just..." Dean admitted with a defeated groan. He took a moment to consider how to best explain to Castiel what Dean's problem was. Castiel could be a little dense when it came to the complicated inner workings of the human mind, or Dean's mind, whichever, "Cas, I've accepted that your trickster god brother is the love of my brother's life, I kinda got over the whole Lucifer is a good guy now and the Michael looks like dad affair, but give me another decade or so to wrap my head around this whole big family thing."

Castiel considered Dean's words carefully before he nodded. Dean's thoughts and feelings on the matter were comprehensible. Besides, it seemed like a good sign and a big step for Dean to even say there was a chance he would ever get used to their families being intertwined.

Both Castiel and Dean were slightly startled when Crowley suddenly cleared his throat noisily. The king of hell had gotten an invitation to the wedding reception after it had become glaringly obvious that they couldn't keep him away anyway.

"That's not going to happen, ever!" Dean stated defiantly, glaring at Crowley when the demon looked at him expectantly. Having all of heaven as brothers and sisters-in-law was one thing -it seemed like quite a few of them were actually pretty decent or at least bearable- but Dean would rather scratch up every inch of Baby with a steel brush than to ever consider Crowley a part of the family.

Sam caught sight of his brother talking to Castiel and Crowley when Gabriel spun him around. Dean didn't look annoyed enough for concern, but knowing that there was something Dean and Crowley of all people were talking about was still distracting. Unfortunately Gabriel chose to win his husband's attention back by putting a firm hand against Sam's back and dipping him toward the floor. Logically Sam realized he should have simply relaxed and let Gabriel finish the move, but all the logic in the world didn't keep Sam from tensing up and flailing slightly. A moment later Sam was flat on his back on the floor, with Gabriel sprawled on top of him and laughing too hard to get up.

"Moose down!" Crowley called with a big smirk. Going to an event with all too many angels in attendance had been worth it just to witness that moment.

* * *

"C'mon," Alice nudged Adam with her elbow, nodding toward the dance floor. Not too many people were interested in dancing, but there were some dancers here and there. Besides, after Sam and Gabriel's little mishap earlier it wasn't like the stakes for getting through a dance gracefully were that high anymore.

"No, seriously, anything other than that," Adam replied, shaking his head for emphasis. The last time Adam had danced with someone had been at his high school prom and that was humiliating... at best. Adam still remembered prom fondly, but for completely different reasons.

"You'd go bungee jumping with me, but you won't dance?" Alice asked with a chuckle. Chances were that wasn't quite what Adam meant to say, but she would have to file that statement of his away for future use. 'Anything other than that' opened up some interesting possibilities.

"Pretty much, yeah," Adam shot back with a challenging smile. Bungee jumping wasn't something that was high up on Adam's list, but if Alice thought he wouldn't do it...

"Fine," Alice shrugged, before she patted Adam's shoulder gently. If he absolutely didn't want to do something Alice would accept that. However, Gracie had apparently made it her mission to get about any guy and a few of the women to dance with her at least once, which perfectly illustrated that there was always more than just one option.

Alice turned toward Tarot -sitting next to Adam as per usual- and gave the angel a nice smile, "How about you?"

Tarot's eyes were drawn to the dance floor as he considered the request. The chance of bumping into someone was close to nonexistent and it looked like a fun thing to do. In fact, the -much less obtrusive than the night before- beat of the music reminded Tarot of the ticking of a clock in some ways. Putting movement to the steady beat seemed like an interesting challenge.

"O-okay," Tarot nodded decisively.

Alice looked surprised for a moment, but just decided to grab Tarot's hand and drag him toward the dance floor before the angel could change his mind about at least giving it a try. Maybe someone else would have enough time to change his mind as well before things became too much for Tarot.

"The hell just happened?" Adam muttered, shaking his head. It was hardly new that Alice sometimes asked Tarot if he wanted to do something, even though the likely answer was negative. Still, Tarot agreeing to something this -relatively- easily was something that rarely happened.

"Looks like my boy just stole your girlfriend," Chuck commented with a light shrug, before he raised his glass of whiskey toward Adam.

It took an embarrassingly long moment until Adam realized what Chuck just said and another long moment before he could come up with the right words to say in the situation, "Seriously, again?"

"You didn't think I would miss my son's wedding, did you?" God asked, raising Chuck's eyebrow before he slid into Tarot's vacated seat.

Adam looked around the room, but it didn't look like any of the angels present were aware of their additional wedding guest. At least Adam figured that some of them would show some sort of reaction, if they knew God was sitting next to Adam, nursing his drink. Of course, it made perfect sense that God could hide from the angels if He chose to do so. Not that it was very nice of Him.

"What does Chuck think about all this?" Adam snorted. Considering that Chuck hadn't even known what happened to him the last times God decided to pop in, chances were that Chuck didn't have much say in all this. Thinking about it, God was pretty much a hypocrite for deciding that all His children needed to ask for consent when He didn't.

"Chuck doesn't mind as long as Becky never encounters me. I consider it a very fair condition," God answered casually.

Adam shook his head, but decided to let the topic go. He really didn't want to cause a scene and attract attention to them. This was Sam and Gabriel's day, drama had no place here. Still, there was something Adam wanted to know, "Are you gonna say hello to the family this time at least?"

"Look at them Adam, they're all doing great without me, just as it should be," God replied with a smile, before he emptied his glass.

"Spoken like a real deadbeat dad," Adam huffed out a humorless chuckle.

God just turned to look at Adam until the young man had a chance to let what he just said sink in completely. Apparently, even Adam Milligan realized when he overstepped his boundaries, as long as he was given enough time to consider his words.

"I think I'll go and cut in now," Adam quickly decided, nodding toward Alice and Tarot. He would stand behind every word he said, but that didn't mean calling God names to his face had been a good idea. Even though, or especially so after Adam had already threatened God with a knife before. Damn Adam's own daddy issues! However, Adam wouldn't be Adam, if he didn't have one more thing to say, "Be a decent guy and don't leave Chuck hanging with the hangover."

* * *

Gabriel was grinning from one ear to the other as he plopped into an empty seat next to Hope. Everything was going great and according to plan. There was very little that could still go wrong too.

"We're about to leave," Gabriel told Hope, still grinning. Sam asked if Gabriel would mind getting started with the honeymoon a couple of minutes earlier. There was only one correct answer to that kind of question, especially when they had decided that their honeymoon would be staying at the awesome hotel, in their awesome room for a week. They travelled enough in their everyday lives and realistically it wasn't like they were going to see much outside of the hotel even if they went to some exotic location. A week for just the two of them to stay in bed however long they liked, laze around, do some exercise of the kind Sam liked and then some exercise of the kind Gabriel thoroughly enjoyed as well was just perfect. Still, there was one thing Gabriel wanted to clear with Hope before they left, "You can announce the pregnancy now."

Hope's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before she leaned closer to Gabriel and asked, "How...?"

After all, Michael and Hope didn't tell anyone so they wouldn't steal the spotlight from Sam and Gabriel. The plan had been to let everyone know in a week or two when things had settled down. It wasn't like they were in a hurry to get the news out, there were still seven months to go and even Hope's form fitting dress hadn't revealed anything yet.

"Puh-lease, the way Michael was glaring at everyone who dared offer you alcohol yesterday and today?" Gabriel answered with a casual shrug, "Plus we've all been waiting for a year."

Unfortunately Gabriel had no chance at the betting pool, since his gut feeling about them going for a baby directly after getting married had been wrong. He could be wrong, but Gabriel thought that Balthazar was the likely winner of the jackpot. His reasoning that they would want to go at it like rabbits for a while before any kids came in to play seemed to have been correct.

"We only found out last week, Otheos didn't want to spoil the surprise," Hope explained with a smile. Though it had been pretty obvious what the angel was hinting at when he refused to heal Hope of her stomach bug and insisted she should go and see a doctor. Still, it was the thought that counted.

"Gabe," Sam called, nodding toward the exit. After all, Gabriel said he just wanted to say a quick good bye, but it looked like he got side tracked.

"Just a second," Gabriel called back, before he turned to Hope again. There was something very important to discuss while they still had the chance. Gabriel had been too late once, this time he would make sure he called dibs!

"Congrats and when you think about godparents," Gabriel stated with a grin, raising both arms to point both thumbs toward himself, "Consider this guy!"

"Will do," Hope chuckled, before she caught sight of Sam walking toward them with a purposeful stride and added, "I think you should..."

"Seriously, I love kids, all kids, just think about it, I'll..." Gabriel had to interrupt his little speech when a surprised noise -too close to a squeak for comfort- left his lips. Who would have anticipated being lifted off a chair by a giant and then being thrown over said giant's shoulder though? Not that Gabriel was complaining, far from it. Before Sam could carry him out of the room, Gabriel just had to yell, "You know I'll be a better godfather than the devil!"

Hope just shrugged when all eyes turned to her and Michael. They hadn't exactly planned to do things this way, but the announcement had been quite unique anyway.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, LadyGrelka, NicoleneB, Deathscythe02, LeeMarieJack and CherylB1964 for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"Let me take that," Michael stated as he reached for the bag Hope was carrying. Of course, Hope usually scoffed at Michael trying to do something for her when she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. Hope could be very stubborn when it came to showing that she was a capable and independent. Michael wouldn't dream of changing that, but she had to realize that the circumstances had changed one of these days. Today however, was not that day.

"Michael, for the last time, I'm pregnant, not ill," Hope insisted, sidestepping her husband's try to take the bag from her. Of course there were certain limitations that came with being pregnant, but Hope refused to limit herself any more than was necessary for the baby's supposed health!

"I know, I know," Michael replied dutifully, "But you're already carrying the weight of two."

The moment the words left Michael's mouth, he already knew he had said something stupid. Otheos -currently invisible, but always watching over them of course- would not have had to dope slap him to make him realize the error of his ways.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Hope accused her husband while crossing her arms, though her tone made it clear that she was not completely serious, or too emotionally hurt.

"What? No! I..." Michael backtracked quickly, before he sighed and admitted, "I could have worded that better."

"Yeah," Hope huffed out a laugh. A moment later Hope unceremoniously passed the bag full of books over to Michael. The thing was quite heavy and only held purchases he had made anyway, which begged the question, "How many pregnancy books did you buy?"

"Only one of each they had in stock," Michael replied as if the ridiculousness of the statement wasn't as apparent to him as it was to Hope. The next thing Michael said didn't make anything better either, "The others will be delivered."

"Awesome," Hope commented exasperatedly. It was bad enough when Michael tried to diligently stick to all the advice the doctor, Hope's aunt and various other people have given them. Only God -oh the irony- knew what ideas all those books would give him!

"How about some ice cream?" Michael suggested, nodding toward their favorite ice cream parlor in an attempt to distract his wife from the topic at hand and just for the general reason of seeing her smile of course.

"Awesome!" Hope exclaimed excitedly and dragged Michael toward the parlor, "You don't think they considered my pickle ice cream suggestion?"

* * *

_Special project codename "Peanut". 15 weeks old, starting to live up to name._

* * *

"I don't even see a baby on the picture," Lucifer frowned as he glared at the display of his phone. Obviously he was meant to see a picture of his future niece of nephew, but it was all just black and white interference.

"Maybe it's upside down?" Gracie suggested, cocking her head as much as she could to get a different view of the picture. There still was no baby to be seen though. It was too bad too, because Gracie was excited about the prospect of having a little cousin, or as close to one as she was ever going to get anyway. Such was the fate that came with being the only child of two only children.

"There it is, the... peanut shaped... being," Nadine explained as she pointed out the baby in the ultrasound picture. Of course there wasn't that much to see at the fifteenth week of the pregnancy, but first ultrasounds were always exciting. At least for the parents.

Apparently Gracie was excited as well, because she snatched Lucifer's phone from his hands and ran to her mother's office to get the picture printed.

"I don't understand the big fuss," Lucifer admitted with a shrug. Granted, Michael being a father of his own after holding on to their absent father for millennia was something else, but that didn't mean Lucifer had to know about every single development no matter how tiny. Lucifer definitely didn't need a three a.m. reminder that morning sickness was a bitch every other night.

"You wouldn't until you have your first one," Nadine replied, patting Lucifer's shoulder, "I showed the first ultrasounds of Gracie to everyone I knew and even a couple random strangers on the street."

"Gracie is obviously special," Lucifer stated with so much conviction it never failed to make Nadine smile, "Even when she was a... peanut."

"Can't blame Hope for feeling the same about her little one, right?" Nadine prompted, raising an eyebrow at Lucifer.

"Of course," Lucifer admitted reasonably as he thought, "But it's Michael who keeps spamming me with those messages."

* * *

"I made a list of things we have to expect while expecting," Michael announced, showing Hope the notebook he had filled with the most important -or what seemed to be the most important- advice he had found in all the books he had purchased. It had taken some weeks to bring it all together, but Michael was positive he had advice for every scenario thinkable now. Hopefully Hope would find the condensed knowledge more agreeable than she found Michael's sharing of his new knowledge as soon as he was done reading another chapter.

"What a funny coincidence, I made a list too," Hope retorted, showing Michael her own, much shorter, list. In fact, there were only five things that fit into three categories on it. Hope was positive she had everything covered, "Here's the things I want from McDonald's, here's what I'd like from Burger King and the desert is Wendy's."

Michael looked at the list Hope handed to him and then at his own list. In all honesty, Michael thought they would go through his notebook with a couple of highlighters to see which points they had to take special care of.

"But I..." Michael started to object, before he caught sight of his wife's sad doe eyes, "On my way."

Hope waited an extra minute to make sure Michael wouldn't return unexpectedly, before she took the dreaded notebook and put it behind the cushion on the armchair. Nobody used that chair usually, so it should be a while before it would be found. Maybe some of Michael's notes would be of use later on and Hope didn't have the heart to simply throw something away when Michael put this much work into it. He just had to calm down a bit before he would see that notebook again.

"Think he'll be gone long enough?" Hope asked Otheos who was standing before her, his arms overflowing with books.

"I would hope so," Otheos replied and turned to go to the backyard, Hope followed directly behind him. It really paid to have a fire pit in the backyard.

* * *

_Can't say I'm a fan of book burnings, but I will make an exception here. Burn pregnancy books, BURN!_

* * *

"Looks like Michael is a little overbearing," Adam laughed. To tell the truth, Adam wasn't particularly interested in Michael, Hope, or their baby, but some of the status updates Hope sent out to the 'family' were quite funny.

"Still no reason to burn books," Chuck commented as he cringed inwardly. After all the 'So I shouldn't eat peanuts in case the baby is allergic, but I should eat peanuts to avoid allergies' messages -and many more in the same vein- Hope sent over the weeks Chuck thought he could understand that she was completely done with guidebooks, but his heart still ached over those burning books. His mind briefly flashed back to a time long ago when his younger mind read Fahrenheit 451.

"Who took the picture?" Chuck asked on second thought. The photo showed Hope standing in front of the little impromptu bonfire, giving a thumbs up. Somebody else had to take the picture and Chuck was pretty sure it wasn't Michael.

"Otheos, I'd think," Tarot answered thoughtfully.

"You know, I still wonder if that kid will be another half-Winchester," Adam suddenly stated with a deep frown, "Think Hope and Michael would agree to DNA testing? For science?"

Not that it would change anything. Their family really wasn't about blood or DNA at this point. It still would be interesting to know and Adam thought he might convince Hope to run a test just out of curiosity.

* * *

"But we painted the walls in a nice gender-neutral yellow," Michael pointed out with a frown. Once again Michael was quite sure that his logic was sound, but Hope didn't seem to think so.

"Yes, so we won't start the baby's life by already imposing gender roles on him or her," Hope retorted, nodding to herself. If their kid -boy or girl- decided for different colored walls later on they could always paint over the yellow, but for now it was supposed to be a friendly, but neutral color. Most of the other things they had bought so far worked for a boy or girl as well. Everything else they could decide on once the kid was born and could show preferences for stuff. Still, all that didn't mean what Michael apparently wanted it to mean and that had to be said, "Doesn't mean I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl in advance."

"I for one would like the surprise," Michael stated, but then added on second thought, "But of course, the doctor can always just tell you."

Hope had the same right to know the baby's gender as Michael had not to want to know it. They just had to find a possibility to make both their wishes come true, or they had to find a compromise. It just seemed close to impossible to find a compromise in a situation that was pretty much black and white, yes or no, to know or not to know.

"But then I'd have to act like it's not completely useless to discuss boy names when I already know it's a girl or vice versa," Hope sighed. Besides, once she knew it seemed impossible not to tell other people and somehow the information would come back to Michael sooner or later. Not knowing was better than knowing and spoiling it for Michael. Still, maybe she could convince him to change his mind, "Like the name discussion isn't already hard enough!"

"I don't want my child to have the same name as one of my brothers, sisters, or any demons or monsters," Michael repeated the requirements a perfect name had to comply with in his opinion. It seemed likely that he would have to make amendments, because this far there were absolutely no names that came to mind that no angel, demon, or monster had ever had. It didn't help that Michael's brain somehow still held the information about basically all angels, demons and monsters.

"That doesn't leave a lot of options," Hope snorted, stroking her ever growing belly absentmindedly, "I mean... Daisy?"

Granted, Daisy wasn't Hope's most favorite name in the world, but it was one of those she would have considered a possibility. Before she brought it up to Michael that was...

"Nasty demon," Michael shuddered not only, but also for effect.

"Very nasty," Otheos agreed, nodding seriously.

Hope just stared at both of them in silence for a moment. Like the first time they had talked about that name, Hope still wasn't completely convinced they weren't just pulling her leg, but it seemed unlikely enough going by the fact that they didn't start laughing a few seconds later. Besides, she didn't like the name enough to really fight for it. One day she would ask Gabriel if he knew of any demons named Daisy though.

"Anyway, if we knew if it's a boy or a girl we could at least bring a little more focus into the search for the needle in the haystack," Hope finished her explanation, even though it seemed pretty much useless, "Okay, obviously we're not agreeing on this, so... Otheos, what do you think?"

Otheos seemed a little taken aback when both Michael and Hope looked at him expectantly. It wasn't the first time they asked for his opinion on personal matters, but he hadn't expected to be asked in this special case. Otheos' surprise best explained what happened next, "I think it really doesn't matter as long as she is healthy."

Silence fell over the room for a few long moments. Otheos was sure that he would be yelled at by at least one person, though Hope might actually be pleased to have their little dispute settled in her favor.

"We're having a daughter!" both Michael and Hope exclaimed at the same time, startling Otheos once more.

* * *

_Congrats godfather. Prepare to throw the baby shower for Gabrielle Lucia._

* * *

"Sam!" Gabriel called as soon as he read and then re-read the message to make sure he got it right, "Hold me! I think I might cry."


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Nicolene B, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, CherylB1964, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LeeMarieJack and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"She's so little and so cute," Gabriel stated in wonder as he looked at his sleeping niece. The week old infant was too precious with her little green onesie and tuff of dark hair. Supposedly Gabrielle Lucia's eyes were brown, but Gabriel hadn't been able to confirm this for himself yet. They had only just arrived after all and the baby was sleeping. That gave Gabriel the chance to be a good little brother and tease his older brother, "Don't worry, Mikey, she doesn't look like you at all."

"Why would I worry...?" Michael frowned deeply, as he considered the statement in much more depth than Gabriel had counted on. The moment Michael's eyes fell on Sam Winchester, standing around rather awkwardly, he thought he drew the correct conclusion, "Oh."

After all Michael inhabited a young John Winchester's body. Sometimes it was too easy to forget that Michael hadn't been like this forever and that his original true form was dramatically different from this one. Still the fact that Michael's children had the potential to share -physical- traits with John Winchester's offspring stood.

"That's not actually what I meant," Gabriel replied, rolling his eyes, "I was just trying to tease you and you blew it."

Gabriel had to admit that Adam's persistent questioning of what exactly Michael looking like their father meant in the context of Michael having children had left its marks. As far as Gabriel was concerned it was simple curiosity and he was reasonably sure that Adam saw it the same way. It was a topic best not mentioned to Sam though and even more especially Dean.

"If I had a dollar for every time that happens," Hope chuckled, giving her husband a challenging smile. To be fair he had gotten much better when it came to understanding jokes and sarcasm, but now and then Michael simply took things far too seriously. Then again, it was one of the things Hope loved about him.

"We... uh... we spent an unholy amount of time at build-a-bear for this," Sam suddenly stated, offering the paper bag he was holding to Gabriel. It looked like a change of topic was needed and they didn't spend an afternoon putting together the perfect bear for nothing. Sam had to admit that everyone in the shop had been very friendly and cheerful, but he still felt completely out of place and the rituals that went with creating a bear there were too silly for his taste. Of course, Gabriel loved every second of it.

"Right!" Gabriel exclaimed happily and handed the bag to Hope. Of course little Gabrielle needed her very own uncle Gabriel bear, complete with plaid shirt, jeans and boots! Realistically, they weren't going to be around as much as Gabriel would have liked, but he could leave his goddaughter a good substitute for when he wasn't around.

* * *

"Who's the cutest little thing ever? You are," Gabriel cooed as Gabrielle squirmed slightly in his arms, "With the little hands and the little toes and the little nose..."

"Careful with her head!" Michael automatically exclaimed when Gabriel changed the way he was holding Gabrielle to tickle her little chin. Logically Michael knew that Gabriel would never do anything that could possibly harm Gabrielle, but he couldn't help worrying every time anyone other than Hope or himself were handling the baby. Otheos had earned the privilege of not being under constant close scrutiny when he touched Gabrielle after Michael caught his brother calming the baby a couple of nights ago. Otheos still maintained that he didn't want too much to do with the child though.

"Seriously Michael, seriously?" Gabriel huffed to show how ridiculous he thought Michael's worries were, despite automatically tightening his grip on the baby a little anyway, "I wasn't the one who let Cassy fall off the cloud!"

"Wait, what?" Sam asked, trying not to show amusement before he knew if any of what Gabriel was insinuating ever happened. Though it was hard to say if the story being true made it funnier or not. Laughing would be less appropriate if it was true for sure. Probably.

"That never happened!" Michael insisted, looking clearly mortified at the accusation, "I swear that didn't happen!"

Michael and Gabriel looked at each other in silence for a few long moments. Gabriel tried to decide if he really remembered it all wrong, while Michael tried to will Gabriel to remember what the hell the actual occurrence had been and to clear his name. Michael knew for sure that no young angel had ever been even potentially hurt like that under his watch! Not that young angels were even comparable to human babies when it came to sheer breakability and helplessness, but still.

"Right, it was Balthazar and now that I think about it he pushed him too," Gabriel decided after a moment of intense consideration, "Did Castiel ever find out about that?"

"It sure would explain why Castiel likes to see Balthazar get punched now and then," Michael huffed out a relieved chuckle. He had to admit that Balthazar made a pretty good scapegoat in most situations, but in this case it really sounded like something Balthazar would do. Of course, not out of malice or anything alike, just to see what would happen and if he could do it. There clearly was no -lasting- damage done to Castiel and Balthazar probably made up for it in his own strange way.

"Don't you worry Gabrielle, Uncle Otheos will tell you everything about Uncle Balthazar and how to appropriately handle him when you're old enough," Gabriel told the infant when the baby started to squirm in his hold again.

"I think somebody needs a fresh diaper," Hope pointed out when Gabrielle started to make a fuss. Hope was nearly a little reluctant to take Gabrielle from Gabriel when he was so happy to just hold her, but there really was no other way.

"Oh, I can do that, you just need to show me where..." Gabriel offered without missing a beat. It had been a while since he had changed his last diaper, but he would have the mother next to him, so Gabriel didn't doubt he could absolutely do it.

Hope shook her head and laughed, but led Gabriel to the bathroom where they put the changing table. At least, none of the men in her life were reluctant when it came to changing diapers. Hope had talked to enough other young mothers to know how lucky she had gotten there.

"So..." Sam cleared his throat awkwardly, scratching the side of his neck. It was weird to be left alone with Michael in a room, even though Sam had to say he liked the former archangel well enough. In fact, all of them were pretty well adjusted and mostly nice at this point, even Lucifer. Still, their history -and to a point his physicality- made things immensely awkward at times, especially when Gabriel wasn't around to dispel the awkwardness. However, they were the only two people in the room and some small talk seemed appropriate, "Things are going pretty well?"

"For all of us, I'd say," Michael replied with a slightly awkward smile, "But I definitely can't complain."

Sam mirrored the awkward smile and nodded. All in all things were going so well that Sam would have been worried to death over what the big storm that always followed the calm would bring this time, if they didn't have pretty much everyone other than the usual ghosts, monsters and a even couple demons here and there on their side.

"Sam, thank you," Michael suddenly stated in a completely genuine tone that made Sam frown.

"What for?" Sam asked, still frowning. He really hadn't done anything other than to agree to accompany Gabriel when he visited his goddaughter for the first time. Okay, he had held the bear too, but other than that...

"Gabriel's decision to... put all of us into our place had a lot to do with you," Michael explained, "I never got the chance to say thank you for that."

Sam and Michael looked at each other in silence for a while after that. Sam honestly didn't know what to say. He didn't think that he deserved the recognition he had just been given, but at the same time saying that he had nothing to do with any of that felt wrong as well. Gabriel always had it in him, but Sam couldn't say with absolute certainty that Gabriel would have ever lived up to his potential if he hadn't seen saving Sam as one of his reasons to do so. The moment was over when Gabriel carried Gabrielle back into the room with Hope following behind them.

"Pretty sure she smiled at me," Gabriel announced proudly, "I think your kid already likes me best."

* * *

"You totally missed out Dean-o," Gabriel stated in a completely serious tone as he covered the French fries that came with his cheeseburger in ketchup, "She's so cute."

Gabriel took a short break in his quest to drown his fries in ketchup to sigh dramatically. A gesture that really wasn't needed to let anyone present know that he was already head over heels for his little niece at this point. Not that Dean was likely to care about that, since he didn't even want to see the baby. He had been nice enough to drive them all to see her though, so Gabriel wasn't complaining. It was somewhat understandable that Dean was reluctant about acting like the newest addition to the family was... well, exactly that.

"Of course you'd say that," Dean retorted with a snort, "Can't call your own goddaughter ugly."

Besides, if the kid had any Winchester genes in her... Dammit, Adam really needed to stop mentioning that by technical standards Gabrielle might be their sister genetically! Dean really wasn't comfortable with thinking about things that way, even if realistically it didn't mean anything.

"Nobody better call her that, or else..." Gabriel answered, balling his fist showily just to make sure everyone knew what the consequences for talking smack about Gabrielle would be. Of course, Gabriel was more likely to prank everyone who dared to open their big mouth to hell and back, but there was no appropriate gesture to convey that.

"I find your display of paternal instincts fascinating," Castiel stated with a small smile as he picked at his own fries. Hamburgers were one of the few foods Castiel found actually enjoyable to eat, but he couldn't seem to get used to the taste of the fries. Luckily Dean usually didn't mind eating those in addition to his own.

"What? I love kids! Always did, never said I didn't!" Gabriel insisted, before he grinned and waggled his eyebrows, "Hey, if Sam were a girl..."

"Dude, I didn't need to hear that!" Dean exclaimed, shaking his head against the onslaught of unwanted mental pictures. Picturing Sam as an actual girl was strange enough, but the thought of that female version of Sam with Gabriel was too much, especially if the female Sam was visibly pregnant. It probably said something none too flattering about Dean's state of mind that the thought that Sam would actually make a kind of hot -if overly tall- woman.

"Why would I be the girl?" Sam asked with a chuckle. All things considered, Gabriel was the one of them more likely to be the woman in the proposed scenario. At least Sam thought so. Gabriel was the shorter one of them after all and while they both didn't have child bearing hips, Gabriel's were closer. There was also the fact that angels were technically genderless and Gabriel could have just as likely had a female vessel. Other than that they were both equally likely to be the woman.

Gabriel only gave Sam a naughty grin as an answer and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Sam would definitely be the one getting knocked up, Gabriel didn't need to use words to get that point across.

"And there goes my appetite," Dean groaned, throwing his arms in the air. He definitely wasn't going to explain that one to Castiel, no matter how questioningly his friend looked at him. There already was not enough brain bleach in the world.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, CherylB1964, Nicolene B, SummerMistedDragon, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LeeMarieJack, Lady Grelka and QuietCrahs for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

Lucifer had to admit that the infant's room was nowhere near as tacky as he had feared it might be. In fact, Gabrielle Lucia's bedroom looked less messy and colorful than Grace's this far. No doubt because the kid was too small to cause that much of a mess or ask for toys.

Lucifer unceremoniously handed the Hulk plushy he had bought for his niece to Michael while Hope lifted the baby from her crib. Grace said that all babies were the Hulk now and then, so the toy was absolutely appropriate for her. Besides, the Hulk was an underrated member of the Avengers or some such nonsense. Lucifer admittedly didn't listen to or remember everything Grace rambled on about any given day. He made sure to listen to everything that was really important to Grace, which should be more than sufficient. At least, it was more than a lot of parents did in Lucifer's experience.

The frown already on Michael's face since he received the toy deepened when he squeezed the plushy's middle and activated some sort of speech mechanism that immediately announced 'Hulk smash!' Still, it was the thought that counted, so Michael placed the toy -after reading the label to make sure it was approved for babies and not only older children- next to Gabriel's teddy bear on the armchair.

"She is very small... and cute," Lucifer stated matter-of-fact when Hope presented their daughter to the visitors. Lucifer remembered Gabriel's threat that he would regret not admitting how adorable Gabrielle was just in time to add such a sentiment to his statement. Not that Lucifer was afraid of anything Gabriel might do to him -if he ever found out in the first place- but it was true and thus could be stated. There was something else that was undoubtedly true and needed to be said as well, "Doesn't look like you at all."

Nadine would blame the chuckle that threatened to escape on the shock factor of Lucifer's statement. Maybe they should have gone over some things to say or not to say to new parents before coming here, but then it was quite likely that Lucifer would have only gotten ideas from that.

"Why does everyone say that?" Michael asked with a groan. He really valued that everyone seemed to agree that Gabrielle was a very cute baby, but it was baffling at best and somewhat insulting at worst that all his brothers had to add her dissemblance to Michael right afterward. If Michael were one to look for negative connotations, he would take this as his brothers saying that he was everything other than cute. Not that he necessarily wanted his brothers to call him cute...

"Your brothers are evil teases, no way around it," Hope shrugged, clearly amused though. She would have cuddled Michael a little to make up for the evil teasing, but Lucifer declined her offer to hold Gabrielle which left Hope with her arms occupied.

"I thought it would be somewhat comforting to know that your offspring does not resemble a Winchester," Lucifer explained with a frown. At least, Gabrielle did not look like any of the Winchesters Lucifer knew this far. Which was not to say she might not show some physical -and/or other- Winchester traits later in life. Depending on which traits exactly she might adopt that could count as good or bad, but Lucifer assumed that Michael would be a little relieved not to have a constant reminder that he himself resembled a Winchester staring him in the face.

"I've seen the Winchester offspring, I wouldn't mind my kid having some of those genes," Hope laughed, which only got a silent groan out of Michael. Maybe he had heard that stupid joke once or twice before. At least Nadine seemed to agree with the statement. You could say what you wanted about the two Winchester brothers -and one Milligan- but they were good looking.

"Can I hold her?" Gracie suddenly asked, pulling on the hem of Hope's purple shirt. Lucifer may not have wanted to hold the baby, but Gracie sure did. It wasn't that often she got that close to a baby, this was Gracie's chance to find out if having a baby around was nice even for a short amount of time. You never knew what you could use that knowledge for later.

Hope smiled and told Gracie to sit in the armchair before she carefully put Gabrielle into the little girl's arms.

Otheos watched the scene critically, but didn't say anything. Hope knew what she was doing and Grace was careful with the baby. Besides, Otheos didn't have to let them know that he felt very protective of the child, they would find out just how protective if Balthazar ever dared to get anywhere close to Gabrielle.

"Are you relieved that she doesn't have any nephilim traits?" Samandriel suddenly asked, too silently for any of the humans around to hear. It seemed unlikely that Gabrielle would be anything other than fully human, but stranger things than Michael's child being a nephilim had happened in this family before.

"Not as relieved as you're going to be," Otheos retorted looking from Samandriel to Lucifer and Nadine. Granted, nephilim were -supposedly- bad news either way, but somehow the thought of the -former- devil fathering a nephilim seemed worse than the -former- commander of heaven's child being a nephilim.

Samandriel only frowned deeply in answer. He didn't think that Lucifer and Nadine were even thinking about considering to procreate... but then again, stranger things had happened in this family.

* * *

Lucifer honestly didn't understand Michael's fondness of ice cream, but since his brother suggested the ice cream parlor they of course had to try it out on the way back to the hotel. Maybe Lucifer made a mistake when he let Grace choose the flavor he would go with, because the little girl immediately pointed at the blue flavor called 'Smurf'. Of course, Grace got chocolate chip ice cream for herself and admitted she only wanted a firsthand report of what exactly Smurf tasted like -and maybe steal a bite or two. Artificial blueberry bubblegum was the best description that came to Lucifer's mind.

Lucifer was looking for a trash can -preferably one close enough that he could dump the disgusting, melting, so-called treat without much ado- when his eyes landed on something else entirely.

"Grace, would it be acceptable if Samandriel brought you to the hotel by himself?" Lucifer asked with a small, nearly devilish smile on his face. Every now and then Lucifer found he loved to surprise the people around him and _this_ would definitely come as a surprise!

"Why?" Gracie pouted automatically. She didn't like being ditched, though sometimes there were good reasons for it. Gracie wouldn't make a big fuss if there was a good reason, but she wanted acknowledgement for her sacrifice either way. After all, it was already evening, which meant that Gracie would most likely miss out on her good night story. At least, Lucifer wasn't going to read it to her then. To be fair, it was easier to convince Samandriel to read her another story after the first and then just one more after the following three than it was with Lucifer.

Lucifer only nodded toward the bar they had just passed by. There weren't too many people around, but the music was nice enough and a few couples seemed to be dancing.

"Are you serious?" Nadine asked as her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You seemed to enjoy it, I'm just trying to be nice," Lucifer shrugged. He had made the effort to surprise Nadine with a nice suggestion, now it was up to her if she would take the offer or leave it. Lucifer could live with both options to be honest.

"Okay," Gracie immediately agreed, after it became apparent what Lucifer was planning, "But only if you promise to have fun."

* * *

Samandriel was fairly sure that being on vacation to a different state didn't automatically mean that Gracie was allowed to watch TV before bed, but then again Nadine wasn't around and 101 Dalmatians was a nice movie. Now that they had started it, they also had to watch until Cruella got her rightful punishment apparently, or else they would be left without closure and that was always dissatisfying.

"Mandy?" Gracie asked when Samandriel finally brought her to bed and was about to pull the covers over her body, "Is heaven a big place?"

Samandriel considered the question for a few moments as he tucked Gracie in. Heaven was hard to describe to people who had never been there. Actually, it was hard to describe to anyone who wasn't an angel. They only saw glimpses and parts of it, but heaven was much more than that. Samandriel would go as far as to say that heaven wasn't only a place either, because he didn't feel like he had been estranged from home for months, even though he hadn't set foot in heaven for quite some time. It was unlikely that Gracie would consider any of that a satisfactory answer though.

"It's hard for me to say what you would find big or small," Samandriel finally admitted, before he smiled and added, "But heaven is... pretty damn big."

Gracie nodded thoughtfully, before she fixed her big brown eyes on Samandriel and asked, "Have you seen it all?"

"No, my duties haven't led me everywhere yet," Samandriel answered, though there was also the part about the map of heaven ingrained in his very being that would let him find pretty much anything he was looking for. Again, that didn't seem like something Gracie would be able to process properly and it surely wasn't something that would help her put her mind to rest and sleep. Instead Samandriel chose an easy answer that should tell the little girl what she wanted to know, "But I can find my way around, if it is necessary."

"Could ya find someone up there?" Gracie shot up into a sitting position, undoing all the careful blanket tucking Samandriel had done just a minute earlier. Kneeling on the bed, Gracie played with the blanket between her fingers for a few long moments before she explained, "I just thought... maybe if you could find my daddy, you could tell him something."

"I would have to..." Samandriel started to reply automatically, before he even remembered that the decision was his to make. He didn't have to ask anyone for permission anymore. This was well within the parameters for free will Castiel and Balthazar had established for all angels. It was a favor for a friend that would not hurt anyone or disturb the great balance in any way. Samandriel could follow his own preference in the matter without a doubt, so he agreed, "I can do that."

"Just... maybe tell him we love him and think of him a lot," Gracie mumbled, as she hugged Samandriel tight. The little girl took a deep breath, before she raised her head and looked the angel directly in the eyes, "And then tell him mommy is dancing again."


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, CherylB1964, Nicolene B, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack, SummerMistedDragon,TheWindyThing B and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

Adam slung his book bag around his shoulders and left the auditory. Some days at med school were more interesting than others and that particular day had been firmly in the middle thus far. It wasn't exactly uninteresting, but it hadn't been all that interesting either. Then again, to Adam med school wasn't about having fun at school anyway, it was all about the big goal at the end.

"Hey," Adam called, clearly surprised as he spotted Tarot of all people in the hallway, "What're you..? Why did you..?"

Tarot was standing as far away from everyone else as he could manage, but he was just across from the entrance of the auditory and watching the door intently. There wasn't really a chance that Tarot was there for anyone or anything other than to see Adam.

Adam quickly put a hand on Tarot's shoulder and led his friend down a more deserted hallway. It was close to lunch break, so there were a couple of spots with only a few people.

"You forgot... your lunch," Tarot explained with a small, nervous smile, as he held out the paper bag for Adam to take. Tarot always made some kind of sandwich with an additional little snack for Adam to take to school. Adam always took it gladly too, but that day he had run late and had forgotten to grab his lunch bag.

In all honesty, Tarot thought about what to do about the situation for the greater part of the morning, before he decided that the only right thing to do was to go and deliver Adam's lunch to him. The angel had never been to the school before, but he could handle going there for just a couple of minutes. He knew Adam's schedule by heart after all, so the task wouldn't take much time.

"Oh. Right. Right!" Adam exclaimed and chuckled a little awkwardly as he took the bag from Tarot. To tell the truth, Adam hadn't even noticed his missing lunch, but lunch break had just started, so he would have noticed soon, "Thanks, man."

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Tarot had quite the strong nurturing streak when it came to people he felt comfortable around. Adam didn't strictly need someone to pack lunch for him, but it was nice and Tarot liked preparing them. Not to mention that anything Tarot had thrown together -after carefully researching recipes on the internet- this far had been a hundred times better than anything the local cafeteria had to offer.

"You shouldn't... go that long without... a proper meal," Tarot stated with a smile and a nod. After all, learning was hard work and the human body needed the right sustenance to make everything function as well as possible. Besides, Tarot thought the avocado sandwich had sounded very promising and wanted to know if Adam liked it too.

"Caring for your human buddies 101," Adam laughed as he wrapped his arm around Tarot's shoulders, "You should ask Balthazar if he needs someone to teach that class some day."

Tarot shook his head slightly. Of course, Adam had only made a joke. Adam knew exactly that Tarot couldn't imagine going back to heaven for any purpose just yet, so a verbal comment on the joke wasn't needed. Instead he asked, "Is spaghetti for dinner okay?"

"The way you make it? Any day!" Adam replied with a grin. Chuck wouldn't mind either, though the prophet claimed that he was developing a little beer -or rather food- gut lately. In fact, Chuck went as far as to complain that it was simply not fair for the beer gut to come in now that he had basically stopped drinking. Of course, Chuck started eating meals much more regularly than before right around the time he stopped drinking too, but that clearly had nothing to do with anything. At least it didn't when Chuck was in the mood to ignore facts.

"Hey Milligan, that your girlfriend?" the nuisance also known as Lyle suddenly taunted just as Adam was walking Tarot to the exit where the angel could just pop back home without being seen or anyone finding it strange that the guy who never left wasn't there anymore.

"Just ignore him," Adam muttered, more to remind himself of the fact than to let Tarot know, as he kept walking, "He's not worth it."

Adam especially wouldn't get into any kind of discussion about the nature of his and Tarot's relationship. Dean thought they were secretly a couple for the longest time and that didn't matter. It was admittedly a little uncomfortable that Dean was convinced that Adam, Alice and Tarot had some kind of 'weird threeway shit' going on, as his oldest brother put it. Still, even that didn't really matter when it came down to it. So why the hell would it matter what some douchebag Adam didn't like to begin with thought?

"What? You don't want to introduce us?" Lyle persisted, walking right after Adam and Tarot, which made Adam a bit nervous about Lyle reaching out to grab someone's shoulder. If the douchebag dared to grab Tarot and send the angel into some kind of panic attack, Adam would have to... But of course, med school wasn't Winchester time where it was perfectly acceptable to punch someone now and then, this was Milligan time.

"Not particularly, no," Adam remarked through his teeth, before he turned to Tarot and commented casually, "Remember the asshole I told you about? In case it wasn't clear, that's him."

Adam realized that he shouldn't have said anything the moment the words left his mouth, but unfortunately having a big mouth and talking before thinking were both Winchester and Milligan traits.

Tarot flinched and ducked his head. He had heard enough of Lyle to know the man was bad news. Adam generally got along with his fellow students well enough, but this one kept pestering him in ways that Adam described as 'nasty, childish High School bullshit'. All in all, Tarot could have done without ever meeting Lyle and he really could do without getting into a confrontation with him.

Adam had to remind himself once more that this was Milligan time, not Winchester time, though forgetting all that was getting more and more tempting. They were close to the exit though and as soon as Tarot made it out there and Adam managed to keep Lyle inside with him everything was basically fine again. Granted, Adam would still have to set the douchebag straight, but that seemed like an easier task once Tarot was not around.

"What's wrong with your lover? He retarded or something? Can't get anyone not mentally deficient?"

"Hey, watch it! Anyone would be lucky to have Terry in their life!" Adam stated vigorously anyway. He couldn't just leave the insult hanging like that, especially when Tarot was around to listen. The angel already saw by far too little wrong with anyone mistreating him, Adam wouldn't set a bad example by acting like he didn't care about others insulting Tarot either.

There were only a couple of steps between them and the exit at that point. All they had to do was continue walking, but then Lyle grabbed Adam's shoulder and forced him to halfway turn around again. Adam quickly threw his arm up and shook Lyle's hand off. It was still Milligan time... That didn't keep Adam from hissing, "If you ever touch me again, you'll regret it!"

"Go cry to mommy, Milligan," Lyle retorted, apparently very happy with himself and the witty reply he had come up with.

The only thing keeping Adam from declaring this Winchester time was the realization that Lyle was just really looking for a fight for some reason. Adam would not give him what he wanted. He was so close to sending his best friend home and then just enjoying his lunch somewhere quiet as soon as he could get rid of Lyle. Still, the douchebag had just dealt out a low blow and it wasn't beneath Adam to admit that he just had to return the favor.

"You know, I'm sorry," Adam stated with as much sincerity as he could possibly fake that moment. Lyle's whole line of insults made it glaringly obvious what kind of comment would hit him right into all the homophobic insecurities and Adam wasn't above using that, "I know it must be so hard for you to know that your affection will always be one sided. Maybe if you weren't so far beneath my standards... I'll call you if I'm ever as desperate as you try to convince yourself I am."

Adam had expected a lot of reactions, but not the dead silence that followed. That alone would have been very welcome, but Adam's head was forcefully knocked sideways before he even registered that a fist had just connected with his jaw.

Milligan time was definitely over!

However, before Adam could as much as raise his first, Lyle was suddenly landing on his butt with an undignified sound. It looked like Lyle had yet to notice the small trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth and nearly mirroring the one coming from the corner of Adam's mouth. Another thing the two adversaries had in common just then were the big eyes with which they looked at Tarot.

Tarot was still shaking, though his chest was heaving, when he turned around and fled through the exit.

"Told you, you'd regret it," Adam spat toward Lyle, before he quickly turned to follow Tarot outside.

Unsurprisingly Tarot had already vanished into thin air before Adam had even left the building.

* * *

"Chuck!" Adam exclaimed after he pushed the door to Chuck's room open without knocking, "Have you seen Terry?"

The angel was not to be found in the kitchen, living room, or his own room. Adam really hadn't had the patience to knock and wait for Chuck to answer under the circumstances, even if his sudden entrance startled both Chuck and Snuffles. There would be time to apologize and make up for that later.

"Not since he went to bring you..." Chuck started, before he took a quick glance at the clock and realized that Adam shouldn't have been back for hours yet, "Why aren't you..?"

"Dammit!" Adam exclaimed, which made Snuffles jump off Chuck's desk and hide behind the bed. Things around the house were usually pretty quiet, so the cat wasn't used to loud noises and was easily frightened by them. The poor thing still jumped when the dishwasher sounded at the end of the cycle.

Before Adam could pull his own hair in frustration, his vibrating phone demanded his attention.

_Tarot is with me. - Alice_

Adam was out of the door again before Chuck could even hope to understand what just happened. The prophet still stood up and called after him, "What happened?"

"Later, Chuck!" Adam called back just a second before the front door clunk shut.

"Sometimes it would be so useful to be God full time," Chuck groaned as he got to his knees to coax Snuffles out from under the bed.

* * *

"Hey, I couldn't text sooner," Alice sighed as she gave Adam a quick hug, which was one of the things she was allowed to do in costume. As much as Alice liked to play the princess, it really sucked sometimes, "He's... uh... I don't know, he hasn't said a word..."

Tarot had been sitting at the exact same spot at the edge of a fountain since he had arrived. The angel had -barely- acknowledged Alice, but hadn't spoken a word and only stared at the floor.

It had been quite some time since Adam last saw his friend like that, but setbacks were always a possibility when something went seriously wrong. Luckily that didn't happen too often...

Adam sat next to Tarot unmoving until he was sure his friend had acknowledged his presence. He didn't want to risk startling the already stressed out angel with an unexpected touch, but as soon as Tarot looked into his direction -more at his feet than at his face, but it was something- Adam put a hand on Tarot's shoulder.

"I'm s-s-s..." Tarot stuttered, his chest constricting too much for him to get a clear word out. It was pathetic for an angel really, but speech usually was one of the first things that went when Tarot had one of his breakdowns.

"No Terry, just this once, don't even say it," Adam stated when Tarot tried to take a few deep breaths to make it possible to get the apology out, "You have nothing to be sorry for. Lyle more than asked for it!"

Usually, Adam encouraged Tarot to say whatever it was that was on his mind, but this time the apology really should be left unsaid. If anything Adam should thank Tarot for punching Lyle before he could do it. Adam could have gotten into real trouble for punching another student, after all. In fact, Adam would make sure Tarot knew that as soon as his friend was ready to listen.

"I didn't... I didn't... mean to... cause trouble," Tarot whispered, finally raising his eyes to meet Adam's. He had thought about going to Adam's school to deliver his forgotten lunch all morning, but the notion that some other student might take Tarot's presence as an excuse to pick on Adam had never crossed his mind. He should have thought of it!

"Wait, wait," Adam stated with a frown, "You didn't cause anything. You only did something really nice for me. He was the one who thought he had to be a raging douchebag, he was the one who couldn't leave it be and he was the one who punched me."

Adam could feel Alice's eyes on him at that statement. After washing the blood off, that apparently stemmed from Adam lightly biting his own cheek when he was punched, and applying some cooling cream nothing much was to be seen. At least so far. Adam suspected the bruise would show more given the time, unless Tarot felt like healing it. Adam probably wouldn't ask him to.

"I... I was the one who... p-punched him," Tarot replied, letting out a deep sigh after he managed to get the words out.

"Hell yeah you punched his lights out!" Alice exclaimed heatedly, which made a couple of passing teenagers give her strange looks. Even Bill looked surprised at this display of un-Disney princess -like behavior, but it was only a moment until he had to hide his own stupid grin, that looked much too goofy to be worthy of Gaston.

"What she said," Adam nodded toward his girlfriend, before he squeezed Tarot's shoulder reassuringly, "Besides, he'd have gotten a fist to the stupid face anyway, you just did it a second before I could."

Tarot nodded jerkily, but didn't seem convinced. At least Adam and Alice didn't seem to be upset with him.

"You wouldn't think that I'm the bad guy for that," Adam added after giving Tarot a moment to process everything that had been said so far, "Don't use a different standard for yourself."

Tarot sighed and closed his eyes. How could he not use different standards for himself when everyone else affected by the things done that day was human? Not that Tarot thought angels were better than humans. Of course, humans weren't better than angels either just different. There were good and bad ones of both species. Tarot wasn't exactly sure where he stood, but he always assumed he was somewhere in the middle, neutral maybe, but then...

"Did you enjoy hurting him?" Adam suddenly asked, which earned him a confused look, but instant headshake from Tarot.

It was an easy question to answer, now that it had been brought up. Tarot did not like hurting Lyle, neither had he ever liked hurting any being in any way, but there was one amendment that had to be made, "But I would... would do it again."

"That only makes you protective and fit right in with the rest of the family," Adam replied with a chuckle.

Tarot knew that Adam was basically joking, but it still made him feel better.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, SummerMistedDragon, Nicolene B, CherylB1964, LeeMarieJack, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LadyGrelka and one guest for last chapter's reviews!

Larkafree asked for a chapter about Gabriel being sick and not being healed immediately... this is what came to mind.

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

There might not be a chapter next week, because I'm on vacation over the weekend. Sorry.

* * *

"This is cruel and unusual punishment," Gabriel whined as he threw the blanket off his body, but pulled the pillow over his head. A second later he threw the pillow off his head and pulled the blanket back up under his chin. Gabriel was too hot and too cold all at once. His throat was parched, but swallowing anything hurt and his nose wouldn't stop running even for a second.

"Pretty sure it's just a cold, Gabe," Sam replied in a -mostly- sympathetic tone. He passed a box of tissues to his poor, sick husband. It wasn't much of a surprise that Gabriel caught a cold considering the last three nights they had stakeout sessions in the humid autumn weather. At least they managed to kill the werewolf before Gabriel became bedridden.

"No, it's cruel..." Gabriel protested in a scratchy tone before he blew his nose dramatically, "And unusual punishment!"

Gabriel had experience with being sick and it sucked. Granted, his experience was limited to a couple of hours of the stomach flu before Castiel had healed him, but it was all the experience he needed to have an opinion on being sick. It sucked. That couldn't be stressed enough!

"Okay, I'll bite. Punishment for what?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow. Of course, nobody liked being sick, but the way Gabriel kept calling it a punishment made Sam think that there was something his husband wasn't telling him. It was unlikely that Gabriel of all people was talking about karma and cosmic punishments for... Actually, even if Gabriel was in fact talking about that, Sam still wanted to know what Gabriel did that warranted punishment. Everything before the Apocalypse was basically considered square after pulling the "ultimate sacrifice" card.

"'t was just a little prank," Gabriel muttered before he tried to distract Sam from the topic at hand by making overly theatrical grabbing motions toward the water bottle on the table. He was sick, so he couldn't be expected to go and get himself a glass of water against his dry throat. It was bad enough Gabriel would have to get up to rid himself of the accumulated water -so to say- eventually.

"A prank?" Sam prompted as he filled a glass and delivered it to Gabriel's waiting hands. Maybe Sam didn't take Gabriel's proclamations of his oncoming death and that this was the worst that ever happened to anyone, seriously, but he did take it earnestly that Gabriel was sick and needed some coddling. Sam would definitely bring up the whole 'the worst that ever happened to anyone' -thing again the next time Gabriel stubbed his toe or something alike. Gabriel could be very dramatic over the littlest things, but then he was surprisingly serious about important matters and actually horrible things. Sam didn't think those two extremes balanced each other out completely, but the scale generally dipped into the right direction.

"Maybe someone..." Gabriel answered and quickly added something under his breath that Sam couldn't make out completely. The words "Castiel" and "coat" were definitely in there though. Sam also thought he heard something about Dean and Balthazar. The context was missing nearly completely, but Sam was already sure enough he knew enough.

"What was that?" Sam asked anyway. The full story had the potential to be amusing or somewhat worrying. Either way, Sam thought he should hear it. Chances were he could ask Dean in case Gabriel really didn't want to share the details.

"Who could've known Cassy can't take a joke?" Gabriel complained halfheartedly. To be fair, the prank definitely went too far, but that wasn't Gabriel's fault. Not really. He couldn't have possibly known that Castiel was on the way back to heaven for his regular check in with the other angels. If Gabriel had known that his brother was about to hold a little speech to basically all of heaven, he might not have pinned the picture to the back of Castiel's coat. Probably. Maybe. Yet.

What was so bad about a -slightly photo-shopped- picture of Dean and Balthazar glaring at each other with Castiel looking like a sad puppy -including dog ears and nose- between them saying "my owners fighting makes me a sad puppy" anyway? If Castiel couldn't take the heat, he shouldn't have... whatever it was that made Gabriel decide he needed to play a prank on him!

"And now you're stuck with this cold, because Castiel wants to see you suffer," Sam summed up the situation. Just as he had expected, he knew enough of the situation to make sense of it, even without knowing the details. Knowing it was about a prank also explained why Castiel didn't answer his phone when Sam called him earlier.

"Don't make it sound like that's fair!" Gabriel moaned. The coughing fit that followed was unpleasant, but definitely well timed. Castiel had been slightly inconvenienced at best, Gabriel would be unable to leave the bed for days and that while being unable to do anything fun in said bed!

"It sort of is," Sam replied, trying and failing to keep his tone sympathetic. At least it was very likely that Gabriel understood well that he did in fact earn that punishment, but Sam still thought he should point that out just to be sure, "I thought you'd be able to appreciate just desserts."

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply, but instead settled for a pout. He didn't have a good answer that would disprove Sam's statement, but if his splitting headache hadn't made thinking basically impossible, he would have had one for sure!

"Okay, I'll try to call Balthazar," Sam announced and reached for his phone. Though if Balthazar had been involved in the prank in a way he disapproved of it seemed unlikely that he would show up to heal Gabriel. Hell, a bad word from Castiel and it was highly unlikely Balthazar would swoop in to heal Gabriel. Balthazar could be very loyal, if he wanted to be.

"Pfff, like Mr. Prissy-Pants will get close enough to tap my forehead even for a second when I'm this gross," Gabriel huffed, before he tore another tissue from the box and blew his nose with a loud trumpeting noise.

"Fine," Sam agreed with a shrug, but dialed a number on his phone anyway, "Dean, can you go on a supply run? We're going to need John Winchester's famous cure-all kitchen sink stew."

If Gabriel was going to be sick for another couple of days, he should get to experience the one upside of being sick in the Winchester family. Sam wouldn't say that their father had been the greatest cook alive, but there were a few dishes nobody could cook like John Winchester, but Dean was a close second. It sure helped that Dean loved the stew as well and enjoyed getting some without the whole ordeal of being sick himself.

"That sounds... vaguely worrying," Gabriel commented with a pained frown. The longer he was awake, the more his head felt like his brain was building up the a great explosion that would leave Sam with the horrible duty of picking his beloved husband's brain matter and bone fragments out of his luscious locks. It was a good thing that the Winchesters regularly dealt with the task of cleansing themselves of gross stuff. Gabriel groaned and pulled the pillow back over his head to block out the light. This day was horrible, horribly horrible even!

"No, it's good..." Sam replied with a shrug and went to boil some water for a nice cup of tea with honey that might do something for Gabriel's mood. At least if there was enough honey in the cup to offset the tea taste.

"Very convincing," Gabriel snorted under his pillow.

"It has enough spice to burn out any virus," Sam explained with a small grin. One thing about their dad's stew recipe was that it called for enough spices to make anyone sweat, but at least Sam always felt like the fever went down several degrees after the spices had done their work. It was quite possible that the fever just felt more manageable when compared to the effects of the spicy stew though.

"Why can't you just get me some anti-biotics?" Gabriel questioned, only lifting the pillow enough for a glance toward his husband. Hopefully Sam would bring some ice cold water with that tea. Gabriel felt like he could use both, at least if there was enough honey in the tea.

"Because, as you know, anti-biotics are against bacterial infections, not viruses," Sam replied, clicking his tongue. Like Sam wouldn't have given Gabriel all the medicine he could use, if he could use it. Cough syrup was in the books, but Gabriel claimed he hated that more than the coughing.

"Smart ass," Gabriel retorted, the lewd grin that automatically spread over his face only lasted for a moment until his headache spiked and made him grimace instead.

Sam only shook his head, but went to grab some medicine against the pain. That was definitely a good idea, even if Gabriel didn't think to request it. Sam put the pills on the plate holding the obligatory chocolate chip cookie before he took that and the tea to Gabriel.

"Hey Muffin, why don't you swing that smart ass over here?" Gabriel suggested after Sam took the empty water glass to be filled again and brought it back. Gabriel sure felt like taking a nap and just letting his body do some healing by itself, but the nap would be better with Sam there to cuddle up to. All the best sleep came from cuddling with Sam. "Pretty sure Cassy will heal you without second thought if you get yourself infected."

"Pretty sure, huh?" Sam asked with a slight smile even as he got under the covers like Gabriel suggested. He could always do some research once Gabriel fell asleep, or maybe watch a documentary on TV. Between Dean and Gabriel, Sam hardly ever had the chance to watch the shows he wanted to see in peace and silence anyway.

"Ninety-nine percent sure he won't let you suffer just because I'd suffer even more if you were suffering," Gabriel replied seriously, blowing his nose once more before he cuddled up to Sam's side.

Sam had to admit that Gabriel looked kind of adorable with his hair in complete disarray, his golden puppy eyes and the red nose. Though that red nose would become very uncomfortable in no time for sure. If Gabriel thought having a runny nose was annoying, he would hate to learn just what blowing your nose often in little time would inevitably do to it. Maybe they could postpone the -usually- inevitable with moisturizer until Castiel forgot he was mad at Gabriel and decided to heal him anyway though.

Sam stretched toward his nightstand and grabbed the small bottle of lotion he kept in it. Gabriel looked skeptical and like he wanted to make a suggestive commented when Sam squirted some onto the tip of his index finger.

"Even I find that gross," Gabriel huffed out a laugh when Sam spread the lotion over his red, runny, icky nose. He knew there was a reason why he fell in love with Sam Winchester of all people.

Sam only reached for a clean tissue to clean his finger with before he slung his arm around Gabriel and stated, "Shut up and let me coddle you."

* * *

"I am starting to feel a little guilty," Castiel stated thoughtfully as he dutifully pushed the shopping cart along. Dean was busy looking for the ingredients of the stew Sam requested. Castiel understood that this was an important family tradition and a recipe passed down from John Winchester, so he thought it was wise not to disturb Dean's intense concentration on finding the best components.

Castiel's bad conscience was beginning to bother him though. What Gabriel did had been uncalled for and made Castiel the laughing stock of heaven for all of a week before Arael got her wing stuck in the heavenly gate, a feat which no angel before had managed since the gate was more of a metaphorical gate than what the humans would imagine as a gate. Still, Arael managed to get one of her wings stuck and everyone was too astonished and curious to learn how it could have happened to pay much thought to the prank Gabriel pulled on Castiel anymore.

Besides, Castiel didn't spend much time in heaven these days and he could tune out angel radio as to not hear the re-tellings of the incident and the ensuing laughter. All in all, allowing Gabriel to fall ill and letting him stay ill for a prolonged time seemed like rightful vengeance at first, but was starting to look like an overreaction.

"Nah, he's fine enough," Dean shrugged and waved his hand as if to literally wave away Castiel's worries. Gabriel could deal with a cold for a couple of days. Being human was made far too easy for the former archangels at times, if you asked Dean. They had literally been directed to their happiness while most people still had to find or make their own. Of course, the whole world and all of heaven profited from the former arch-douches being content humans, so Dean would keep his thoughts on the topic to himself... for the most part.

"Maybe I should heal Gabriel upon our return," Castiel pondered out loud. Gabriel had surely understood the message Castiel was trying to get across. Leaving him sick for another while would do nothing to achieve the goal Castiel set for the punishment.

"First we have the stew," Dean replied decisively. Castiel better not dare to take away the reasons to cook John Winchester's famous cure-all kitchen sink stew! Dean was already looking forward to having some of it after all. Once that was done though there was no reason to let Gabriel ride out the cold, especially if it made Castiel feel guilty, so Dean amended, "Then you can heal him before he gets Sammy infected."


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, NicoleneB, CherylB1964, SummerMistedDragon, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, QuietCrash, LeeMarieJack and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

I apologize for the looooooong delay, but I was hit with a full time job very unexpectedly and that took some getting used to. I will try to upload a new chapter on Saturdays or Sunday from now on, but it always depends on what's going on at work. Sorry.

* * *

"Do you ever take a moment to reflect upon your life and the choices that led you into a situation?" Gabriel asked with a grin as he ran his hands through his hair in a fruitless attempt to get at least most of the dust out of it. Collapsing caves always tended to be a messy affair. Of course they basically consisted of condensed dust, so it was quite natural that a good part of a cave collapsing would release a lot of it. Even if it was annoying and really irritated Gabriel's throat and eyes.

Still, looking at the circumstances, things could have been worse. The demon could still be in here with them for one. That would definitely be bad news, especially since he seemed to be a quite powerful one. Who knew that there were any white eyed demons left? Gabriel would give Crowley a call about that as soon as he had cell phone reception again. Maybe. If he remembered then. There were a couple of other things higher up on the priority list.

"Like, if I had stayed back just a bit to ogle Sam's butt, I'd be on the other side right now," Gabriel stated after Dean kept quiet a little too long for comfort. It seemed quite likely that Dean was having the headache of the century that moment, so Gabriel could cut him some slack for being a bad conversationalist this one time.

"Or squashed," Dean deadpanned, giving Gabriel a pointed look before his features softened a little and his voice took a raspy tone as he added, "Sammy too."

They were quite lucky that none of them had been seriously hurt as it was. A lot of rocks had been moved just recently and there were many more possibilities that could have went worse for them than options where things would have been better. Sam already managed to make enough of a ruckus on the other side of the stone barrier to let them know that he was very much working on tearing the thing down, so it was only a matter of time until Dean and Gabriel were freed from their prison.

If only the stupid demon's makeshift hideout wasn't covered in all sorts of sigils that apparently kept pretty much anyone and anything from just popping in or overhearing anything going on inside, like prayers to a certain trench-coat-clad angel to swing his ass down here and get them out already. Since when did demons beside Crowley actually plan for things like that?

"True, it was a good decision to go against my libido for once," Gabriel agreed, his laugh getting interrupted by a dust induced coughing fit. Call him prissy -though nowhere near Balthazar levels- but Gabriel just didn't like dust. He could live in really messy quarters no problem, but dirt wasn't his thing.

"We're not talking about your... we're not talking about that!" Dean snapped a little too harshly. It wasn't like it was Gabriel's fault that they were trapped. The short-stock hadn't made things worse either, quite the contrary in fact, but Dean tended to get irritated when things went wrong and he couldn't immediately do something to set them right.

"Okay, what does Dean-o want to talk about?" Gabriel retorted in a testy tone, "'Cause it looks like we still have some quality time just between the two of us to come."

Dean groaned and fought the urge to rub his temples. The headache was manageable, but chances were Gabriel would make it worse in no time. Why did it have to be Dean who got trapped with Gabriel anyway? If it were Sam and Gabriel, they would probably even enjoy their time together while Dean worked his ass off rescuing them. Not that Dean wanted to think about what exactly he might have found once he got them out. Ever.

Then again, looking at the circumstances it seemed unlikely that anything much would have happened. All that dust and dirt would hardly put anyone in the mood. Not that Dean wanted to think of what did and didn't put his brother or his brother-in-law in the mood. Ever. The biggest turn off would be something else entirely anyway...

"How about you just shut up for a minute?" Dean asked, without any heat this time. Gabriel probably didn't deserve to be given attitude just this once. It was just easy to forget about the fact when usually Gabriel deserved it.

"No can do," Gabriel replied with a shrug that tried to be apologetic, but wasn't. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone -and even Dean- that Gabriel despised silence. Actually, it wasn't so much silence in general he despised as it was the sort of loaded silence that tended to fall over tense situations. He could deal with peaceful silence all right. Sam could attest to that. After all Gabriel could spend hours just watching Sam sleep or read.

Dean automatically glared at Gabriel, before he could stop himself. Not that he necessarily wanted to stop himself when Gabriel was antagonizing him. Sometimes it really seemed like Gabriel had to use every chance to be annoying he got just for the heck of...

"Hey, I can either talk, or I can cry," Gabriel stated seriously, nodding toward his leg. Luckily the fabric of his jeans had withstood the impact of the rock that hit him. Gabriel had the sinking feeling that he might get a good look at what exactly his bones looked like if there was nothing covering the wound and he could really do without that. It was hard enough not to panic as things were. Not that the wound needed to be exposed to the dust right now anyway, "Those are the choices right now."

There was a moment of silence as Dean tried to gauge how serious Gabriel was about his announcement -Dean would go as far as to call it a threat- but it looked like Dean might have a crying wounded man on his hands in no time. That thought admittedly made Dean feel a little uneasy. Maybe even a lot.

"Sam!" Dean yelled. When no answer came his next shout took on a more worried tone, "Sammy!?"

They had clearly heard signs of life from Sam earlier, so things just had to be okay on the other side of the barrier! There was no other option. Period. Dammit, Gabriel would probably feel if something was wrong with Sam over that weird connection the two had. As long as Gabriel was not freaking out everything had to be alright with Sam.

"That's a good sign," Gabriel rolled his eyes, though his tone was definitely sympathetic. Gabriel could hardly blame anyone -least of all Dean- for worrying about Sam. If only Gabriel could have dared to open up their connection a little more, but he definitely didn't want Sam to catch a glimpse of the pain of a broken leg. Sam was probably worried enough as it was.

"He probably figured out that he can't call Cas within..." Gabriel added, but had to stop talking to bite his lower lip when a thoughtless movement sent a flash of pain through his entire being. The downsides of being breakable never failed to annoy. Of course, that was why they were downsides in the first place.

"So what? We just sit around and do nothing?" Dean threw his arms in the air. They could at least... Dean could at least try to get rid of some of the sigils. If they were lucky he could even break enough of them to allow Castiel to just pop in and get them out. Of course, the sigils were carved into the stone and destabilizing the cave any further might not be the best idea. Besides, Gabriel wouldn't be of much help. The sigils were too high up to be reached from a sitting position. Gabriel was starting to look a little too pale for comfort too and if he was completely honest Dean was feeling a little under the weather himself.

"Sounds about right," Gabriel agreed, "You'd better sit down too, those healing runes are not what they used to be."

Gabriel hadn't bothered mentioning that he was pretty sure that a rock had tried to figure out just how hard headed Dean really was when the cave collapsed. As it turned out even Dean's nogging couldn't withstand that kind of force without taking some damage. Luckily Gabriel already had the bleeding fingertips to paint a couple of healing runes he recalled all over Dean's forehead.

If Gabriel had still been his archangel self -or his pagan god self really- Dean would have been better than new already. As things were, Dean seemed to be doing okay, which was all Gabriel was asking for that moment.

"Life choices, huh?" Dean snorted as he plopped down against the wall next to Gabriel. It seemed unlikely that even a crafty demon like this one could have gotten the jump on a fully powered archangel.

"That sums it up nicely," Gabriel huffed out a chuckle, before he added seriously, "And I don't regret a thing."

Dean raised an eyebrow at his brother in law -a move that immediately made his headache spike- but managed to keep himself from mentioning any of the things he was quite sure Gabriel should and possibly did regret. There had been that episode with going behind their backs and sacrificing himself for one, plus the ongoing pranks that didn't always turn out for the best and a couple of other things, but who was keeping count?

"Okay, let me rephrase that," Gabriel amended after a moment of consideration, "I don't regret doing Cassy a favor and looking after your two shrunken asses."

After all, everything started with Castiel's stupid, yet brilliant idea to ask Gabriel to look after a de-aged Sam and Dean. Some of the other angels apparently called Gabriel heaven's savior or champion these days, but really it was Castiel who paved the way for everything.

"Sammy's shrunken ass, you mean," Dean commented before he could think his words through.

"That sounds so wrong," Gabriel pulled a face at the unwanted mental pictures. It wasn't often that Dean was the one to say something inappropriate and Gabriel was the one to shudder from the implications. Under different circumstances Dean would have been very proud of himself right about now.

"You were always part of the deal," Gabriel added after a moment of uncomfortable silence. There was absolutely no use denying that Gabriel had a much better connection with Sam, but Dean was a vital part of the family all the same. Maybe if Dean didn't have all those stupid ideas about what counted as a chick flick moment and couldn't be said in the Impala, in public, in motel rooms or ever really Gabriel would have already voiced his thoughts on the topic more than once. Judged by Dean's immediate reaction it seemed unlikely Gabriel would bring it up again anytime soon either.

"Dude, stuff like that is only ever acceptable when you're about five minutes from dying," Dean stated decisively, before he eyed Gabriel critically and maybe a little worriedly then added, "You'd better not be five minutes from dying!"

Dean should have checked Gabriel's legs minutes ago. The bastard had no right to die on Dean and leave him to explain what happened to Sam! Hell, should Gabriel even be using healing runes on Dean when he was hurt himself? Didn't those things draw energy from the person who...?

"No worries, bad weeds grow tall," Gabriel smirked, though it didn't look quite as heartfelt as usually.

For once Dean didn't find it particularly hard not to comment on Gabriel's height, or lack thereof, as he simply replied, "I repeat, you'd better not be five minutes from dying."

"Yeah, we don't want Death to visit us right now. No junk food available. He gets pissy without his junk food," Gabriel mused, leaning his head against the wall behind him. Actually, at times Gabriel wondered what it would be like once his time as a human ran out and run out it eventually would. Such was the nature of humans. Some reaper would probably get a good laugh and a great story to tell to his or her buddies the day they came to reap him.

"Don't tell me we're running out of air in here," Dean groaned as he pulled a face because of the stupid joke. Lack of oxygen would give Gabriel an excuse for making stupid jokes at least, but it would definitely be bad news. Then again something was definitely going on on the other side of the barrier. Sam was back and with a vengeance for all it sounded like.

"Nope," Gabriel popped the "p" for all it was worth before he went on talking, "I'm just floored by your display of affection."

Dean stared at Gabriel like he had grown a second head for a long moment before he even muttered, "My display of..."

"Oh yeah," Gabriel laughed, though it hurt a little, "You just gave me Dean-o speak for 'I love you like a brother, please don't die.'"

Gabriel didn't even need Sam to translate for him to know exactly what Dean basically just told him, without really saying it of course. Actually, Dean wasn't half as hard to decipher as he liked to think he was.

"Dream on, Shorty," Dean huffed, though he had to admit -if only to himself- that Gabriel was right. After all, Sam was not the only brother Dean had and while he definitely didn't love Gabriel like he did Sammy, he probably liked Gabriel about as much as Adam. When it came to the whole 'You drive me crazy and we constantly fight, but you are a part of my family and nobody better touch a hair on your head' dynamic, Adam and Gabriel stood at about the same level. That was until Gabriel just had to open his stupid mouth again.

"Dean-o loves me, this I know..." Gabriel sing songed, until he was rudely interrupted by something, or rather someone breaking through the stone barrier.

"Sam! Cas!" Dean exclaimed all too relieved. That definitely was awesome timing!

"Balthazar!" Balthazar exclaimed in a mocking tone, just to make sure his presence and thus contribution to the whole rescue mission was not overlooked here. He hadn't left his nice little chateau in France to get his fingers dirty and then be ignored! Not that anyone seemed to pay him much thought even after his little outburst. The world paid with ingratitude...

"Are you okay?" Sam asked as he knelt down next to Gabriel and got ready to scoop his husband up as carefully as possible. Castiel already explained that his and Balthazar's powers were severely limited by the sigils around the cave, so they had to get Dean and Gabriel out of there before they could be healed.

"Will be," Gabriel stated in a pained tone after he breathed through the worst jolt of agony at being moved. Once he was securely in Sam's arms the pain seemed more manageable already. It also helped that getting rid of it was only a matter of minutes at most at this point.

"It's already better now," Gabriel announced as he leaned his head against Sam's shoulder. It really paid to have a giant of a husband. A moment later Gabriel's eyes fell on Dean, who had his arm slung around Castiel's neck for support as they made their way outside. All in all, having a little bonding time with Dean hadn't been that bad. It could have been worse at least.

"What're you grinning about?" Sam asked with a slight frown as he followed Gabriel's eyes to their brothers.

"What happened in the cave stays in the cave."


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's note:** Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, CherylB1964, SummerMistedDragon, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat, LeeMarieJack and LadyGrelka for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"Mommy," Gracie whimpered as she pushed her mother's bedroom door open, "I had a nightmare."

Nadine hadn't even opened her eyes before she already lifted the covers to let Gracie crawl into bed with her. It was an automated response, coined by years of having Gracie come to her every time her daughter had a nightmare that woke her up enough that going back to sleep seemed impossible. Actually, it had been quite some time since Gracie hadn't been able to sleep through the night, something that happened much more frequently before Lucifer and Samandriel came into their lives. Thinking of the devil...

"Don't worry, Grace, even nightmares fear the devil," Lucifer muttered as he threw an arm over Nadine's waist to embrace both her and Gracie, who had crawled in with her mother in the meantime.

"Now go back to sleep, little abomination," Lucifer sighed against Nadine's neck.

Gracie nodded seriously and tucked her head under her mother's chin before she closed her eyes to get some more rest. There was nothing to fear when the objects of her nightmares would all run away in terror once they knew who her own personal angel was.

Both Lucifer's and Gracie's breathing evened out very soon after, but Nadine found herself wide awake and unable to put her mind to rest for a long time. When exactly had she started to feel so comfortable with having Lucifer in her life -as more than a house guest who happened to be a very important attachment figure for her daughter- that she completely forgot he was present? Of course, the moment Gracie walked in it was already too late to prevent the inevitable, but that begged the question when exactly had Nadine -subconsciously- decided that Gracie finding out wouldn't as bad as to ask Lucifer to leave every other night?

Morning came not nearly early enough for Nadine's taste and preparing breakfast for the family -everyone in the house, the group of people happening to live in the house, the family and acquaintances- didn't provide enough of a distraction to put Nadine's mind at ease either.

"About... what happened last night," Nadine cleared her throat after Gracie had her juice and pancakes and they were all gathered around the table. Damn Lucifer and Samandriel for watching Nadine closely and damn Lucifer doubly for showing some amusement over the situation, like it wasn't all his fault... partly.

"It's okay, mommy," Gracie replied in a definite tone, before she leaned closer to her mother and whispered in a voice not quite low enough for Lucifer and especially Samandriel to not hear every word, "Daddy knows we'll always love him and think of him. I asked Mandy to tell him that."

Samandriel was gone before Nadine could hit him with the somewhat disbelieving and a little betrayed look she wanted to shoot him. The coward could have at least warned her that Gracie was up to something!

"Gracie," Nadine sighed, but what was there to say to an announcement like that?

"Daddy said 'that's my girls' and he also said 'go get him'," Gracie went on in a serious tone, only then noticing that Samandriel wasn't around to back up her words. It didn't matter anyway, she had repeated the message exactly as it had been given to her and her mother would believe her. Her mother always knew when she was lying.

"Mandy wanted to tell you when the time was right, but I think that's now," Gracie finished with a slight shrug, before she hugged her mother tight and repeated, "It's okay, mommy."

Nadine's forehead hit the table with a noticeable bang the moment Gracie left the kitchen, apparently to leave her mother and Lucifer alone to talk things through. When had everyone decided that Nadine and Lucifer had things they needed to talk through? When had everyone decided that all this was okay? Most importantly, how had Nadine missed all of those developments?

"How did any of this happen?" Nadine muttered into the table, not really expecting an answer, least of all an intelligent one.

"After a period during which you couldn't stand me at all, there came a period when we became friends and eventually something undefined beyond friendship developed," Lucifer deadpanned nonchalantly, though he was sure Nadine didn't expect an answer, "If it helps your comfort levels any, I am perfectly fine with leaving this undefined."

Nadine lifted her head enough to see Lucifer gesturing between them. That was something at least. No spontaneous declarations of undying love, or worse questions about what term to use for their... arrangement. That would have been too much for just one morning.

"However," Lucifer added and Nadine's forehead hit the table again. Lucifer shook his head a little exasperated before he got up and walked around the table to be able to put his hand under Nadine's chin and make her look at him.

"It is possible to love more than one person equally, I know that now," Lucifer declared in a surprisingly soft tone before he leaned in to kiss Nadine's forehead. Somewhere in this universe or another God was probably fist pumping the air or whatever other triumphant gesture He felt like giving that moment.

Nadine nodded and wound her arms around Lucifer's neck. Not defining what exactly it was they had between them still sounded good, but whatever it was everyone -including Josh- seemed more than okay with it. They could work with that for now.

* * *

"Hope, you've got to see this!" Michael exclaimed the moment Hope unlocked the front door. To tell the truth, her husband's little surprise attack right at the entrance startled Hope enough that she dropped her book bag with a shriek, much to the amusement of their seven months old daughter.

Michael only took the time to give Hope a quick kiss before he more or less dragged her into the living room, Gabrielle on his other arm and watching the proceedings with curiosity. Hopefully they could recreate the moment Hope had missed due to her community college classes.

"Okay, just a moment!" Michael declared still excited as he put Gabrielle on the soft carpet and started to put a couple of things the baby always liked in a line just a couple of feet from her.

Hope smiled amusedly. She was pretty sure that she knew where this was going, but Michael was so adorably thrilled that Hope didn't have it in her to spoil the surprise her husband was most likely building up to, by asking if Gabrielle had started to crawl while Hope was gone.

Sometimes Hope was a little jealous of all the extra time Michael got to spend with their baby, but it had been her idea and her own free will to take up college classes and look into social work. It was good to finally have some direction in her life and Michael was more than supportive of the idea.

"Ready?" Michael asked both his women, before he reached for the red ball and showed it to Gabrielle, "Do you want the ball?"

Hope laughed when Gabrielle gave a loud snort and didn't move. Apparently, the ball wasn't what she wanted. The baby book and the banana got shot down the same way, so Michael was only left with some toy blocks to offer. Hopefully, Gabrielle would play along and not curb her daddy's as of now, unbroken enthusiasm.

"Do you want the toy blocks?" Michael asked, still smiling widely even after Gabrielle snorted once more, "What do you want, Gabrielle?"

Hope frowned and was about to ask if the demonstration had failed, when Gabrielle started to kick her little legs and wave around wildly while shouting, "Da-da!"

Michael immediately picked his daughter up to cuddle her, before he grinned at Hope proudly, "Did you hear that?"

What Michael didn't say was that after Gabrielle's first impromptu use of the word he had spent a good part of the afternoon getting her to say it again and figuring out how to get her to repeat the word once Hope returned home. The mission had been a full success and Gabrielle definitely earned a cookie or two!

"Little traitor," Hope commented fondly, before she kissed her daughter's forehead, then leaned in to give her husband a proper kiss, "That's so awesome."

Michael beamed at his wife and cuddled his daughter once more. There wasn't a single word that described Michael's entire existence better than "father", but somehow it had never had more meaning than when he found out he was going to be a father himself. It had never sounded better than coming from his daughter's lips.

* * *

Every now and then Castiel enjoyed finding a quiet place -a bench in a park, an unused landing stage, a clearing in the forest- to meditate, watch his surroundings, or simply have a moment for himself. He loved being with his family -Earthly or heavenly- but every now and then Castiel needed privacy. Luckily the circumstances hardly ever didn't allow for him to simply take the time he needed these days.

Castiel hadn't told anyone that he planned to spend the sunrise on top of a cliff he had seen from the window of the Impala a while ago, so it came as a surprise when he suddenly found he wasn't alone anymore. It was even more surprising to see Chuck Shurley in his trusty bathrobe walking toward him. Only it obviously wasn't Chuck at all...

"Do you have a minute, Castiel?" God asked with a nice smile, before he added, "I can come back later, if it's inconvenient right now."

"No! Don't leave!" Castiel exclaimed, immediately getting to his feet and approached his father while He was still there, "Who knows when 'later' would be?"

Castiel realized he had just taken the completely wrong tone with his father, but he couldn't have helped it if he wanted. The years spent looking for God without ever getting a sign and all the cynical comments Castiel had to hear from everyone who knew of his mission had left their marks.

"I see that Dean, Balthazar and Gabriel are doing a bang up job teaching you the great art of snark," God commented with a small smirk that looked wrong on Chuck's face.

"We could have used your help, your guidance, over those past years," Castiel retorted, before he added more pointedly, "Centuries."

Admittedly there had been times when God had given the one or another of them a push in the right direction, but all that had come in the last moment possible. They had to fight so many battles, find solutions to impossible to solve problems...

"Think back to the time when I was still in heaven, Castiel," God stated, ignoring the tone Castiel had just taken with Him again, "Think back and take off the rose tinted glasses."

Castiel frowned deeply. A part of him -the part that had been mostly hidden until the Winchesters discovered and nourished it- wanted to deny his father's request just as a matter of principle, just to show God what it was like to want something and not get it. However, the request seemed reasonable, so Castiel tried to do as his father asked.

"Things are better now than they were under my rule," God concluded, to let Castiel know what exactly He was trying to say.

Castiel looked his father directly in the eyes as he frowned again. Heaven was up and running, better than it had been in a very long time just as God said. However, there had been a very long period during which heaven had been a much worse place after God left.

"We were lost and it was a long, hard, costly road…" Castiel finally stated cautiously. He understood that his father was trying to make a point, but Castiel's own point that God had deserted them still stood. It was hard to believe that God didn't understand what Castiel was talking about, even if He acted like it.

"Nobody said becoming independent from your parents was easy," God replied with a gentle smile, "But it is a necessary part of life."

"From what I observed most parents don't simply leave their children without explanation and simply hope for the best," Castiel retorted bitterly. Most parents tried to teach their children everything they needed to know and then let them go slowly, still standing close by in case their children needed them again. At least that was what Castiel thought good parents did. Of course, there were a lot of lousy parents out there, but Castiel doubted that God wanted to say He was a bad parent.

"I made a mistake when I made you, Castiel," God admitted, looking at the oncoming sunrise for a few long moments before he added, "All of you."

Castiel startled at that announcement. Something in him immediately bristled at the thought that God might possibly think that he should have never created angels. Sure, they had their problems and some angels simply didn't understand that a life of peaceful coexistence had its merits, but all in all they were just individuals trying to find their way. A lot of them had been quite successful already. Castiel liked to think that he himself was on the right path.

"I thought I made it so you would always need my orders, I thought you would always be dependent on me," God added an explanation when it became obvious that Castiel didn't understand what He had been trying to say, "And the worst is that all of you believed it too."

Castiel deflated a little after hearing that explanation. None of what his father said was wrong. Some angels still had troubles believing that they could possibly make their own choices without falling out of grace. It had been a difficult process to get most to overcome that line of thought and it would still take some time until every last angel understood.

"How could we overcome something like that while I was still there?" God asked with a slightly sad smile.

Castiel nodded slowly. Looking at things the way his father just laid out for him, things made sense. It didn't exactly erase all the hopelessness Castiel had felt in the past and the losses they suffered, but it was something Castiel could understand. If all God was asking for was Castiel understanding He could have that.

"If you truly believe all that, then why are you here now?" Castiel asked after a few long moments of silence during which the sun finally started to appear over the horizon. A new morning, the end of another night.

"To tell you something very important," God answered easily, before he turned to look Castiel in the eyes, put a hand on his shoulder and added earnestly, "Well done, my son."


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's note: **Thanks so much to Larkafree2, Maknatuna, MaddyLoveCastiel, Nicolene B, CherylB1964, LeeMarieJack, QuietCrash, SummerMistedDragon and Lady Grelka for last chapter's reviews!**  
**

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

"Over my dead body!" Gabriel announced as he glared at the wannabe-hunter who thought it was a good idea to try and intimidate him. Like it was so easy to intimidate Gabriel when he hung out with the best and meanest -okay, maybe not really, unless you counted Dean early in the morning and without his first cup of coffee and shot of whiskey- hunters in the field on a daily basis.

With Gabriel's statement hanging in the air as it was, the sound of the safety coming off a gun could have easily been a very bad sign, but of course Gabriel was married to one of said best, meanest and quickest at the draw hunters.

"Don't even think of it!" Sam hissed as he pointed his gun at the unknown hunter. Nobody was going to get anywhere close to shooting Gabriel on Sam's watch, even if his husband had thrown himself into the line of fire like the idiot he was.

Dean groaned, but kept his hand on his own gun just in case. It was unlikely that the situation would get any more out of control with the three of them clearly outnumbering the sole stranger. Still, having an unknown hunter on the same case they were working was never good news. Hunters tended to be territorial bastards who always thought they knew best, when clearly the Winchesters were right and they were wrong. Period.

"It's a monster!" the hunter protested fiercely, but keeping his weapon lowered demonstratively.

"It's a baby!" Gabriel protested with just as much fire in his voice. Of course, monsters had babies as well -at least some kinds did- but that didn't mean all those babies were monsters at birth or even that they would necessarily become monsters themselves.

"It's a shifter!" the hunter retorted, glaring at Gabriel.

"A shifter under the age of one is still a baby," Gabriel insisted, as he rocked the little bundle in his arms. The yelling had obviously -and little surprisingly- upset the baby. Not that Gabriel blamed the little one, he himself was getting quite agitated as well. The fact that he didn't dare to even look at Sam or Dean for fear of finding any sign that they were backing up the other hunter did nothing to reassure Gabriel either. However things might be, nobody was going to shoot a baby here! "And I'm not going to let you touch a hair on his head!"

"You heard him," Dean stated with a casual shrug that was in stark contrast to the murderous glare Gabriel still shot the hunter and of course, to the gun pointed at his head, "This is our issue now."

"You're all crazy," the hunter muttered even as he finally put his gun away completely and walked toward the exit of the underground bunker where the shifter had decided to make her home base.

Sam sighed and lowered his own gun before he made eye-contact with Gabriel. To tell the truth Sam was completely with Gabriel when it came to killing monsters just for the sake of it, especially when it came to children. Still, Sam couldn't help wondering if Gabriel had even the faintest idea what exactly he was doing and how big of a problem they had on their hands now. The way Gabriel's golden eyes bore into Sam's green ones made him realize with a start that Gabriel was the one of them who had actually thought all this through already. This was going to be... interesting.

Dean snorted loudly before he yelled after the retreating hunter, "Tell us something we don't know!"

* * *

"Turn the music down!" Gabriel demanded from the backseat of the Impala, "Aljamarkiz is trying to sleep."

Sam automatically reached for the radio controls to follow his husband's request. Sam's mind had been going a mile a minute ever since they left the bunker, but this was not the time or the place to discuss the situation. Not yet.

"Who now?" Dean groaned, throwing a look over his shoulder and flinching lightly when he got the visual reminder of their little -or not so little- problem. For a couple of minutes Dean actually managed to kind of blank out on the fact that they had an additional, diaper wearing passenger with them.

"Alja..." Sam tried to repeat the name Gabriel had given to the baby, but it felt strange rolling off his tongue. Then again, Gabriel -or rather his alter ego- supposedly had children called Jörmungandr and Sleipnir, just to name them the strangest ones.

"It's a good, strong, Norse name," Gabriel stated in a lecturing tone, confirming Sam's suspicion of where the name came from. They hadn't exactly asked the shifter what the name of her kid was before the other hunter shot her. Hell, they hadn't even known there was a baby involved before she was already dead on the ground. The kid only started crying when the gun went off. Not that it would have changed anything if they had known earlier. The shifter had still killed various people over the past few weeks and her child would have still been an innocent baby.

"Sounds more like a diagnosis than a name," Dean snorted, "I've come down with a severe case of Aljamasis."

Not that the kid was likely to have that name for long. As soon as they figured out what kind of foster family they could stick a shape-shifter baby into. The usual adoption agencies clearly wouldn't cut it in a case like that. Dean supposed that they had a drive to Bobby's ahead of them. Bobby probably knew of someone who could handle a shifter baby.

"Aljamarkiz," Gabriel repeated slowly, stressing each syllable of the name for Sam and Dean's sake. Neither Winchester brother had to say a word to let Gabriel know clear as day that they didn't approve of the name, even after they were told -again- how to say it correctly. It didn't look like Sam was thinking of voicing his opinion -yet- but Dean was clearly only thinking of the next stupid joke to make about the name, so Gabriel added, "It's so easy to criticize."

"Like it's so hard to find a name that doesn't sound like a disease," Dean shot back without missing a beat. They would have to do that anyway. They could hardly present the baby to possible foster parents and introduce the baby as Aljamarkiz. What kind of last name would that possibly go with?

"Right," Gabriel huffed out a chuckle, rolling his eyes for good measure before he added, "So easy."

In a display of great timing, the baby made a high pitched noise as if to agree with Gabriel that the Winchesters brothers couldn't do better if they tried. Gabriel smiled at the baby fondly and offered up his index fingers for sucking on, something he had discovered earlier that the baby enjoyed greatly.

"Bobby," Dean retorted without really thinking about it. There, simply baby name that would last the ages. How hard was that?

"John," Sam spoke at the same time as his brother, giving the issue about as little thought as his older brother. His mind was still busy going through a million different scenarios of how this night could possibly turn out for them. Unsettlingly most of the options Sam came up with ended badly.

"Bobby-John," Gabriel exclaimed triumphantly. The baby's big, green eyes were watching him even more curiously after that little outbreak.

"Hey wait!" Dean protested vehemently as soon as he realized what he and Sam had just done.

"Too late," Gabriel smirked, clearly satisfied with himself, "What do you think, Bobby-John?"

The Impala swerved at the mention of the name, but Gabriel was too preoccupied watching the baby to really notice. Gabriel completely missed the unspoken conversation that went on between Sam and Dean as they stared at each other for a few long moments, because the baby took that moment to squeal around Gabriel's finger.

Gabriel grinned as he concluded, "He likes it!"

* * *

Sam Winchester was not a coward. At least, he wasn't a coward under normal circumstances. Nothing was normal about these circumstances and Dean made it pretty clear that it was Sam's duty to get things sorted out with his husband while Dean took the cowardly way out and went to a bar, likely to complain to Castiel. So Sam figured he could be a coward for a little longer and insist on a shower before he went for the inevitable talk with his husband. Maybe he could come up with an idea of how to get this situation sorted out with minimal damage done if he only had a little more time.

Unfortunately, the shower had to end eventually and Sam was as clueless as before. He wasn't enough of a coward to keep hiding in the bathroom for another hour of two though. Not to mention the motel's shitty water system was already turning the once steamy water into an ice bath.

"You know, I've been thinking," Gabriel announced the moment Sam emerged from the bathroom. Apparently, his husband had taken some extra time to towel dry his hair that day. Not that Gabriel could blame him for it all things considered. Besides, it gave Gabriel the opportunity to change the baby's diapers and get him changed into one of the few other outfits they were able to find around his crib.

"Right," Sam replied ineloquently and all too obviously unsure about what to do with himself. Gabriel was half lying on their usual double bed and usually Sam would have joined him without a second thought. There was a little baby lying on his back, legs in the air, next to Gabriel though. Sam had to admit that his husband and the baby made a damn precious picture like that, especially with the way Gabriel was focused on the kid, a tender smile on his face.

"Bobby-John is a good name and all, but with a shape-shifter you never know when he becomes a she," Gabriel stated, as he tickled the baby's belly which had the kid squealing, "I suggest Robbie-Jean as a more gender neutral alternative."

It had been foolish to think that Gabriel had thought about how to give the baby a good permanent home without considering keeping him with them, Sam could admit that.

"Gabriel," Sam sighed. It wasn't that he couldn't see Gabriel with a child. Dammit, Gabriel loved children that had always been obvious. It wasn't even that Sam couldn't seem them as a couple with a child, though he had slight troubles seeing himself with a baby, but the thought had always been so hypothetical. They didn't have a permanent or even semi-permanent home. Their job had become safer in the past few years, but it was still dangerous. Their life simply wasn't made for a baby. A baby who was probably about the same age Sam had been when...

"I know. Sam, I know all that, but..." Gabriel trailed off and Sam realized with a start that he had probably been loudly projecting his thoughts without really meaning to. Sam ran his fingers over the amulet around his neck and closed his eyes for a moment.

When Sam opened his eyes again the picture he found hadn't changed. Gabriel was petting Robbie-Jean's hair while the baby seemed to be drifting off to sleep. Of course, Sam didn't expect anything to change about that and if he was honest he didn't expect anything to change about it until they bought a portable baby bed.

"Just tell me that..." Sam sighed, before he stopped talking and laid down across from Gabriel, the baby between them, then finished his request, "Just tell me he's got the same choice to be a decent person everyone else does."

Gabriel watched with hopeful eyes as Sam reached out cautiously and a little unsure to pet the baby's hair.

"Shifters don't need blood, organs, or someone else's life force to live," Gabriel replied quietly. Of course, Sam knew all that, but it would do good to remind themselves of the facts, "With a good home, the right moral education and lots of love in his life, he can be the best damn person to ever walk this Earth. Next to you."

Sam nodded and let his fingers wander from where he had been petting the baby's hair to Gabriel's hand at the top of the kid's head. To say that lying in bed with his husband, a little baby between them and their fingers entwined over the child's head felt completely natural would be a huge overstatement, but Sam thought it could start to feel normal given time. In the very least it would always feel more natural than to knowingly break Gabriel's heart by denying him one of his dearest wishes. They could figure out the details later.

They had done so many things that should have been impossible together and with the support of their family and friends. What was one more little miracle?


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's note**: Thanks so much to Larkfree2, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, QuietCrash, Nicolene B, CherylB1964, LeeMarieJack, Crazy as a Cheshire Cat squared and Lady Grelka for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

* * *

Dean stood next to the Impala mumbling profanities under his breath. It was all he had been doing for ten minutes in the very least. In fact, Dean could have been done with the task at hand in the time he had taken to just complain about it.

Actually, that wasn't completely true, because there were some important, as of yet unanswered, questions. Where would Cas sit, if the space behind the driver's seat was permanently taken? Where would Gabriel sit, if the space behind the shotgun seat was permanent taken? Would Gabriel be willing to sit in the middle of the backseat, because Dean sure as hell wouldn't make Castiel give up his seat!

The most important question, of course, was: Why the hell did Dean have to install a baby seat for a freaking shape-shifter?

"Because a shifter under the age of one is still a baby," Dean muttered to himself, badly imitating Gabriel's voice by simply making his own much higher and slightly whiney.

Couldn't that thing simply shift into someone a couple years older? Preferably old enough to be handed a credit card and sent their merry ways. Apparently, that wasn't how these things worked. Awesome.

"His name is Robbie Jean," Dean repeated what Gabriel told him over breakfast, still in a much too high voice, "It's a mash-up of John and Dean."

Dean kicked the now empty box that housed the baby seat aside and put the thing on the backseat, still trying to decide where he should actually install it. The task at least kept him from thinking about the moment of happiness Dean actually experienced at hearing where the shifter's -his nephew's- new name came from. So what? It was nice being considered in these things, even though Dean would have liked it better if anyone had considered his opinion on having a shape-shifter in the family in the first place. Not that they had considered his opinion on having archangels in the family either.

Dammit, it was easier to become a Winchester -honorary in most cases- than to get into a good college these days! And that actually said more about their expanding family than it said about the country's educational system.

At least it turned out that the car seat fit in the middle of the backseat, robbing neither Cas nor Gabriel of their usual seats (and giving Sam the opportunity to actually look back at his adopted son when they were driving). Of course, Dean would always have to see the baby that way too, but realistically there was no ignoring the baby now that it was established it would stay with them anyway.

"We've talked it through and I think we found a solution that's acceptable for everyone," Dean muttered in a bad impression of Sam's voice. His Sam impression was much better than his Gabriel voice though. Years and years of practice.

The thought that most kids didn't really make connections to other kids their age in the first few years and thus Robbie wouldn't miss anything by traveling with them for a couple of years had its merits. Who knew what would happen after those couple of years though? Dean knew Sam better than anyone and could tell that Sam had no intention of letting his child grow up the way they did. Not that Dean would have wanted that for his nephew anyway. Circumstances were much different -though not necessarily less complicated- in Robbie's case. Giving the kid a permanent home by pre-school or kindergarten age the latest would be the right thing to do. What kind of kindergarten would be fit to take in a shifter kid though?

All this would take a lot of getting used to and Dean wasn't even sure if he wanted to get used to all of it yet. Hell, it looked like even Sam wasn't completely sure about the whole affair, though he tried to hide it with all his might. Gabriel of course got exactly what he wanted. As per usual.

"Son of a bitch," Dean commented as he strapped the baby seat into place.

"Hello Dean," Castiel greeted his friend. He winced in sympathy when a loud bang announced that Dean had just banged his head on the roof of the Impala. Maybe Castiel's greeting had come a little too surprising.

"Balthazar tells me that something I have to see to believe has happened in my absence," Castiel explained in his usual stoic tone when Dean emerged from the car, still rubbing his head. Castiel figured that the sour expression on Dean's face stemmed from the reminder that Balthazar was keeping an eye on the Winchester brothers and Gabriel when Castiel could not. Then again, the gleeful expression on Balthazar's face when he informed Castiel that something had happened, told Castiel that whatever it was probably also was to blame for the expression on Dean's face.

"Your stupid brother adopted a shifter baby," Dean sighed deeply, before he amended, "Our stupid brothers adopted a shifter baby."

Sam had let Gabriel talk him into it after all. Dean could say with a clean conscience that he had nothing to do with this. Granted, he had gone to the bar to drown his sorrows instead of trying to influence his brother and brother-in-law. Not that Dean believed he could have talked Gabriel of all people out of something he wanted and Sam -the traitor- of course backed up his husband every chance he got!

"That seems..." Castiel started to reply before he had made up his mind about what he wanted to say completely. Dean would have interrupted him before he got to finish his statement either way as it turned out.

"Stupid? Idiotic? Like a royally bad idea?" Dean finished Castiel's statement for him. Dammit, they were hunters! Every now and then they met other hunters! How were they going to explain the shifter baby to any of them? How were they going to explain this to Bobby? How were they going to have evenings at the bar with a baby around? How was Dean going to play any of his favorite music at the volume just perfect for it with a sleeping baby in the backseat? Most importantly, how was Dean going to deal with being the fourth wheel instead of the third when this had been a two men operation for so long?

"Abrupt," Castiel clarified. None of the options Dean offered seemed completely fitting for the situation, since Castiel didn't have all the information yet. Castiel was willing to believe that Dean's assessment of the situation was not too far off though.

"We ganked the shifter and the baby was there," Dean shrugged. Actually, that was another thing. How were they going to explain that to the kid eventually? _Oh we killed your mother, but no worries as long as you stay on the straight and narrow we won't kill you, now eat your veggies. _Though to be fair that other hunter had put a bullet into the adult shifter, so technically none of them had gotten their hands dirty. They had only saved the baby. That was a better story to tell, but still not something that would be easy to explain to a kid of any age.

"Gabriel always had a big heart when it came to children," Castiel commented as he looked into the Impala to inspect the newly installed car seat. There was no more room for any additional people as things were. Maybe it would have been wiser for Sam and Gabriel to get their own car, but Castiel doubted that Dean would value Castiel's input in the matter. As long as it was just Sam, Dean, Gabriel, Castiel and the baby there was space for everyone anyway. Balthazar would not be able to simply pop in anymore though. Then again, Dean might actually consider that a positive aspect of the entire matter.

"Okay, fine, but did it have to be...?" Dean started, before he stopped himself mid-rant as he realized that Robbie being a shifter didn't make as much of a difference as Dean would have liked to believe. A human baby would have brought about basically the same changes that bothered Dean. This far Robbie being a shifter had hardly factored into anything since the kid was behaving like a normal baby.

"I don't understand," Castiel admitted, though he was positive that he was not meant to understand that moment. It looked like Dean didn't completely understand the entire situation that moment either. It seemed like Dean was bothered by the situation, but had not yet searched his feelings enough to be sure why exactly it bothered him. Castiel considered asking Dean to spend the night at a bar at whatever place they would be that evening. It seemed like Dean was always more open with his feelings once he reached a certain level of tipsiness and that openness would clearly make determining what the issue was easier.

"It's fine, Cas," Dean sighed as he put a hand on Castiel's shoulder. It was not easy to have to come to the conclusion that his issues with the baby were more about his own fear of change than about the convenient he's-a-monster-baby-excuse. A humanized Gabriel had been easy enough to include into their lives, because in the end they didn't have to change too much about their established routines. That couldn't be said for their newest passenger of the Impala.

"Maybe you would feel better, if we hit the bar this evening," Castiel suggested, using Dean's preferred phrase to suggest an evening out, because it always seemed to make Dean happy when Castiel clearly showed that he was learning things from his friend.

Dean patted Castiel's shoulder amicably, but didn't get to give a verbal response before Sam emerged from their motel room, their newest addition to the family held securely against his shoulder. Sam already looked a little more at ease with the baby than he had a couple of hours ago, though Dean was sure he could detect some fear coming from his younger brother. Sammy always had that nervous energy rolling off him when he thought there were too many ways he could screw something up for it to go right. Dean was reminded of pretty much any time Sam had to take an important test or go up on a stage for a school project.

"Hey, Cas," Sam greeted their friend as he gently rubbed Robbie's back. The baby seemed happy and somewhat sleepy. It would be best for all of them if Robbie managed to sleep through at least most of the three hour drive to Bobby's they had ahead of them.

"This is Robbie-Jean," Sam introduced the baby to Castiel, who was looking at Robbie curiously. For a split second, Sam wondered what a shape shifter looked like to an angel. Did they have some kind of true form as well, or did they simply look like they form they had that moment, maybe with a little something giving them away as non-humans? Some day Sam would have to ask one of their angelic friends about this, just to know if it could become an issue.

"No worries bro, we'll get a reference to your name into the name of the next one," Gabriel added with an all too happy grin, as he stood behind Sam and reached over his husband's shoulder to pet Robbie's hair.

Sam's already slightly anxious expression became more worried the moment he heard his husband's joke, which was the only reason why Dean decided not to voice any of the thoughts that were going through his head that moment. Chances were Sam was more worried about Dean's reaction than he was about Gabriel actually starting an orphanage for monster babies. So Dean chose to completely ignore his brother-in-law and instead only addressed Sam, "We better get going. His seat is ready."

"Thanks, Dean," Sam stated with a dimpled smile as he put Robbie into the car seat and then let Gabriel take his usual seat, now next to the baby. With Castiel on the other side and the Winchester brothers about to take their seats the best word to describe the scene was "domestic".

"No big deal," Dean shrugged. If that wasn't completely true, Sam didn't need to know. It would be true soon enough... probably.

Maybe after he and Cas really did hit the bar.


	28. Chapter 28 - Halloween Special

**Special thanks to Treeni for the impromptu beta-reading!**

**So here's a second chapter, because I was suddenly hit with inspiration for a Halloween chapter!**

**I repeat, there was another new chapter today, so if you haven't read the one about Dean and the baby seat yet, there's another one for you to read.  
**

* * *

"You could've talked her out of this," Michael grumbled, but immediately switched to pulling a funny face when Gabrielle looked at her father clearly puzzled by his tone. However, Michael kept rolling his shoulders in a try to get rid of the uncomfortable itch between his shoulder blades. As much as Michael liked carrying his nearly 18 month old daughter around -Gabrielle disliked all other forms of transportation, except for being carried preferably by Michael, Hope or Otheos- it would have had its advantages to push her around in a stroller.

Luckily Gabriel, ever the good brother, noticed Michael's predicament and reached over to scratch his back for him. People could laugh about the baby sling all they wanted, but it always left Gabriel with two free hands to hand over baby bottles and snacks, or reach for salt and his trusty knife, or -as was the case- give someone a much needed back scratch. Admittedly, people might stop laughing at the baby sling if Gabriel could bring himself to buy one with less visually obtrusive -as Castiel, ever the diplomat, put it- colors. It was hardly Gabriel's fault that the only choices he had were between a boring black and grey and flying pigs in a baby blue sky with yellow clouds!

"Have you met Grace?" Lucifer asked, raising his eyebrow at Michael. Like Grace could be talked out of anything once she made up her mind! There had been no convincing her that the devil wasn't loveable and didn't make the best second dad ever. Clearly, there had been no chance whatsoever to reason with her when it came to the Halloween costume she wanted and no use trying to convince her not to plan for the entire group.

"What's the matter, Mikey? Don't like having your wings back?" Gabriel laughed, much to Robbie's amusement, prompting Gabriel to ruffle his son's brown hair, "Pretty sure your wife likes them."

Lucifer smirked when Michael immediately blushed. Hope's comment about Michael better keeping those wings -and only the wings- for later had hardly been inconspicuous or innocent. It looked like those two were really working on that second kid.

"Grown up humor isn't funny," Gracie informed her two cousins with a shrug. Gabrielle was courteous enough to cock her head at Gracie, like she was trying hard to figure out what her cousin was telling her. Robbie only kept sucking at his own fist, but being a baby was a good enough excuse for that kind of behavior.

"Just you wait until puberty, missy," Gabriel told Gracie with a smirk.

"Uncle Gabriel will still always be half as funny as he thinks he is. At best," Lucifer deadpanned, but raised his arm behind Gabriel's back to receive a high five from Michael. It was nearly funny how the three of them fell back into their brotherly routine so easily, yet at the same time it was simple enough not to repeat all the mistakes of the past.

Chances were what Michael disliked about their current getup the most weren't the -admittedly itchy- wings, but the way Gracie kept introducing them as soon as they reached a new house. The girl had her very own brand of humor, Gabriel just had to appreciate that and so did Lucifer, but Michael sometimes had his slight problems with it.

"Good evening, madame," Gracie started her act, like she had done at the last five houses. Gracie had perfected the speech over the past few days and she was going to use it! Lucifer and Gabriel liked it anyway and Michael's opinion didn't count when it came to what was and wasn't funny. Even aunt Hope said so! "Your house was just blessed by the visit of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Lucifer and their little abominations."

Gracie finished her act with a little bow and held out her big bag for the homeowner to add even more candy to it. Gabrielle and Robbie were too young to have their own bags and they weren't allowed to have too many sweets yet anyway. Gracie would keep the sweets safe for them and distribute them fairly later. Nobody needed to know that at least two of the three pieces of candy she usually received would stay with her for certain. Robbie -much to Gabriel's horror- was a much bigger fan of the banana and apple slices Sam prepared for him than of any kind of processed sweets. At least for now. Gracie couldn't complain about that as things were.

"Do you always have to say that?" Michael asked -trying his hardest not to whine- as they walked away from the house, "You could at least stop with the abomination thing."

"Yes and no," Gracie replied, flashing her all too serious uncle a bright grin, "The costumes don't make sense without the explanation!"

Gracie had been thoughtful enough to choose very tasteful angel outfits for adults -there were a lot less dignified ones, even outside of the puzzling sexy section- and to make sure both Gabrielle and Robbie would still be easy to carry around even in their costumes. Michael had nothing to complain about here! Gabrielle even got the bottom half of the cookie monster costume, because it was made of a soft, warm fabric and Gracie knew how important it was to her uncle that his daughter was never in danger of catching a cold! The halo had been absolutely necessary to make a connection between Gabrielle's costume and her father's.

Gracie didn't hear Gabriel complaining about Robbie's little angelic robe and the beanie with swamp monster eyes on top. Her uncle Gabriel obviously understood the joke and thought it was funny and uncle Sam had been amused too! Gracie wasn't entirely sure what uncle Dean's comment about Robbie better not taking his costume as inspiration for a new look meant, but she knew that Dean had no problem making very clear when he was unamused and that hadn't been it.

Of course, Gracie knew that there was always a chance that Robbie would change his appearance on them randomly, but honestly so far the baby had been pretty boring for a shifter. The most he had done was adapt Gabriel's golden eyes and Sam's brown hair. For the sake of completeness, what Robbie had also done with that stunt was to violate Dean's baby with a goo explosion, but by the time Gracie had heard the story Dean had calmed down enough to notice that Robbie also adapted the general shape of his face -at least Dean thought he did- and was more pleased about that than he was upset about the mess.

"Deal with it, Michael," Lucifer summed up as he proudly ruffled Gracie's hair as much as the devil's horns on her head allowed him to. Gracie was also the only one of the children to wear angel's wings, but that was only practical since she also was the only one who wasn't being carried around.

"At least this isn't our neighborhood," Michael mumbled, which made Gabrielle pat his face reassuringly. Just a month ago Gabrielle would have also offered her pacifier to her father when she thought he could use a little comfort, but she had bravely given it up -with the exception of emergencies- two weeks prior.

All in all, Gabrielle was such a perfect little angel -and not a little abomination at all- that Michael had no problems believing that they could handle a second child. He was a little worried that the second might deserve the abomination title, but that would have to be seen. Besides, Michael would love the -as of yet- hypothetical baby abomination anyway.

"Is there a reason why you chose this town?" Lucifer asked while Michael already brought up the topic. Of course Gracie loved the thought of trick or treating in two towns -her own and the one of Gabriel's choosing- for obvious reasons. There was a very real chance that Gracie would collect more sweets than any of her class mates this Halloween.

"You'll see," Gabriel answered so mysteriously that the fact that he was uncapping Robbie's bottle for the evening feeding only took away from the mysteriousness marginally. Of course, Michael and Lucifer had to notice that something was up. They were in a good neighborhood with a lot of friendly people and happy kids running around, but they could have stayed in Michael or Lucifer's hometown to get that as well.

"Do you want to tell uncle Gabriel what we think of stupid secrets, Gabrielle?" Michael addressed his daughter in a conspiratorial tone that made the little girl smile brightly before she looked at Gabriel, pulled a face and snorted: "Stoooo-pid!"

"It's not a stupid secret, it's a good secret!" Gabriel immediately defended himself, feeling only a little stoooo-pid for basically talking back to a toddler. A toddler who refused to walk and demanded she be carried all afternoon no less!

"Good, daddy," Gabrielle parroted and pet her father's cheek once more.

Gracie's response to hearing that something secretive was going on was -unsurprisingly- much more vocal: "A secret? What secret? Will there be a surprise? Why didn't you tell me, uncle Gabriel?"

"Because you would blab to Lucifer the moment I told you," Gabriel retorted matter-of-factly. Not that Gracie's tendency to share about anything with Lucifer was bad, quite the contrary, but it had to be taken into account when something was supposed to be a surprise for Lucifer.

Gracie opened her mouth to protest, but then snapped it shut again. When Gabriel was right, he was right. Gracie didn't plan to change anything about the fact either. Lucifer might stop telling her everything if she started to keep secrets after all! Gabriel never made them wait too long to reveal the surprises he had planned anyway. Until then, they could collect more sweets. The next house looked very promising!

"Oh hey, I know you!" Gabriel exclaimed as soon as the door was opened and revealed a black woman in a very colorful 60s hippie outfit, "We've met... at that little bakery. Best cakes in town. Like, two years ago? I was there with my husband, tall guy."

Gabriel did his best to give his voice an uncertain note and it seemed to fool the woman, but both his brothers looked straight through him. Gabriel knew full well who he was talking to, but he probably had his reasons for acting like he didn't.

"Your baby really liked us," Gabriel added as if on an afterthought, while the woman was still trying to figure out if he was mistaking her for someone else.

As if on cue, a little three year old girl costumed as a doctor came running toward her mother. She only gave the strangers a passing glance before she yelled excitedly: "Mommy, daddy says we can leave now!"

"That's great," the girl's mother replied with a fond smile, "And Raphaela, tell your father that he cannot eat all the sweets before you get back home!"

"Nope! They're all mine!" Raphy exclaimed and hugged her mother's legs before she took off toward her father.

Both Michael and Lucifer were completely dumbstruck, even though they weren't completely sure they just witnessed what they thought they did. Gabriel had promised a surprise and that would have been quite the surprise...

"That's funny," Gracie suddenly commented, "She's Raphaela and they are Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer."

Gabriel gave the slightly baffled woman a crooked grin and a shrug as she reached for the candy bowl and let Gracie choose whatever she wanted. To her credit, Gracie showed some restraint and only picked three pieces of candy instead of using the general confusion to swipe half the bowl. The thought had crossed her mind, but Gracie already had more candy than her mom would let her eat in a week, so there was no use in hoarding that much more. Besides, Lucifer would always buy her some of whatever she wanted if she asked him nicely anyway.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Gracie commented as they walked away from the house. Apparently, Gabrielle thought that something was off too, because she was fussing about a bit more than usual. Robbie was drooling, but that wasn't unusual and had probably more to do with the fact that he had fallen asleep than with the general atmosphere.

"It's Halloween, seeing ghosts is a part of that," Gracie babbled on when she didn't get a response, "But don't worry, most of 'em aren't real and a little salt and Mandy take care of the rest."

Gabriel couldn't help laughing at that and Lucifer reached out to pat Gracie's back. The kid was still soaking up knowledge like a sponge, especially knowledge her mother didn't fully approve of. Lucifer was still happy to know that Gracie knew how to protect herself, even if she would never have to deal with any of those things by herself. Nadine and Lucifer both agreed that when it came down to it Gracie's safety should always be Samandriel's top priority, so it was hard to imagine -even for an eternal pessimist like Lucifer- that Gracie would ever be left alone with any threat, supernatural or otherwise.

"Not all ghosts are bad," Michael finally stated with a small, content smile. Over the past years Michael hadn't been given much time for gloomy thoughts, but one of the few regrets he had was that Raphael had drawn the short stick in the end. It was something they never spoke about, but Michael was sure that his two brothers felt the same now and then. At least Lucifer would, Gabriel apparently had known something they didn't.

"Neither are all abominations," Gracie retorted with a grin that showed off her two day old tooth gap.

"You're living proof of that," Lucifer agreed, giving Michael a challenging look.

"I surrender," Michael proclaimed with a chuckle just as they walked up to the next house. To be quite honest, Gracie could have introduced them as three knights of hell and their hounds that moment and it wouldn't have dampened Michael's good mood any.


End file.
